LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


THE 


VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


A  NOVEL. 


BY    THE    BROTHERS    COBB. 


IN  EIGHT  PAKTS. 


BOSTON: 

CYRUS    AND    DARIUS    COBB, 

228  WASHINGTON  STREET. 
1870. 


LIBRARY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 

HA  VIS 


Entered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1870,  by 

X 

CYRUS    AND    DARIUS    COBB, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  for  the  District  of  Massachusetts, 


UNIVERSITY  PRESS  :  WELCH,   BIGELOW,   &  Co., 
CAMBRIDGE. 


TO 


0f 


WHOSE    SUBLIME    PURPOSE    IS    TO    BIND    THE    DEFENDERS    OF    THS 

UNION   IN    ONE   GREAT   BROTHERHOOD  J     TO    GUARD    AND 

PROTECT  THE    FAMILIES   OF    THEIR    FALLEN  COM 

RADES,    DEAD,    AND    OF    THEIR   DISABLED 

COMRADES,  LIVING  |    TO  TEND   THE 

EVERLASTING     FIRES     ON  • 

THE    SACRED    ALTAR 

OF    LIBERTY, 

THIS  WORK  IS  FRATERNALLY  DEDICATED 


CYRUS  AND   DARIUS   COBB, 

Post  30,  Dep't  Mass. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY, 


CHAPTEE    I. 

NIGHT  was  settling  over  the  city  of  New  York.  It  was 
in  the  faU  of  1866.  Wall  Street  had  been  througji 
one  of  its  fiercest  campaigns  of  that  year ;  but  now,  as  the 
darkened  sky  looked  down  on  this  field  of  many  battles,  it 
gazed  upon  a  field  of  silence.  The  bulls  had  retired  tri 
umphant,  the  bears  discomfited.  In  other  words,  one  set 
of  speculators  had  gone  home  to  count  up  their  increased 
fortunes ;  the  other  to  contemplate  their  ruin. 

About  eight  o'clock  a  man  issued  from  a  broker's  office 
near  the  Treasury  Building,  and  looking  upwards,  around, 
and  then  downwards,  as  if  he  were  uncertain  whether  he 
trod  on  solid  earth  or  not,  he  turned  and  wended  his  way 
with  an  unsteady  step  to  his  store ;  for  this  man  was  not  a 
professional  speculator,  but  a  dry-goods  merchant,  who  had 
caught  the  fever  of  speculation. 

As  he  passed  through  the  store  to  his  counting-room,  the 
few  clerks  who  remained  for  special  duty  looked  after  him, 
and  exchanged  significant  glances. 

Closing  the  door  of  the  counting-room,  he  fell  into  a 
chair  and  buried  his  face  in  his  hands. 

As  the  gas-light  strikes  down  upon  him  while  he  thus 
sits,  a  picture  of  despair,  his  thin,  yellowish  hair  matted 
with  perspiration,  and  his  long,  bony  fingers  clutched  and 


6          THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

quivering  in  the  midst  of  these  scanty  locks,  one  cannot 
withhold  from  him  a  profound  sympathy. 

At  length  he  uncovers  his  face,  and  rising,  he  paces  up 
and  down  the  office.  Presently  he  stops,  and  resting  one 
hand  on  the  desk,  he  fixes  his  eye  on  a  photograph  which 
hangs  on  the  partition  that  separates  the  counting-room 
from  the  store,  and  mutters  to  himself. 

The  name  of  this  merchant  who  suffers  so  much  is  Jonas 
Cringar. 

As  he  stands  before  us,  he  appears  to  be  a  little  over  fifty 
years  of  age.  He  is  tall,  and  his  shoulders  are  somewhat 
bent.  His  thin  hair,  and  rather  bristly  beard,  which  he 
wears  full  and  of  moderate  length,  are  mixed  sandy  and 
yellow.  His  eyes  are  blue,  and  have  a  cast  in  them ;  and 
while  they  indicate  a  kindness  of  disposition,  they  also 
convey  an  impression  of  obliquity  in  his  character.  His 
nose  is  nearly  straight. 

His  mouth  has  a  peculiar  expression.  It  is  somewhat 
long  and  well  compressed,  as  it  appears  under  the  trimmed 
mustache;  but  mingled  with  this  compression,  which  to 
the  casual  eye  would  convey  an  idea  of  great  firmness,  is 
an  expression  of  weakness,  not  unlike  that  which  is  seen 
in  the  mouths  of  certain  inebriates. 

The  whole  face,  in  moments  df  excitement,  is  drawn 
down  and  elongated. 

As  he  gazed  on  the  photograph,  which  was  the  likeness 
of  a  man  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  a  captain  of  infantry, 
his  muttering  gave  place  to  a  silent  look  of  intense  mental 
anguish,  his  face  being  drawn  down  to  an  extraordinary 
degree. 

Suddenly  he  started,  looked  at  his  watch,  and  with  an 
effort  at  self-control,  stepped  to  the  door,  and  told  the  re 
maining  clerks  they  could  leave  and  he  would  lock  up. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  7 

Cringar  stood  looking  at  the  clerks  as  they  retired.  One 
seemed  to  delay. 

"  Will  you  leave  ? "  cried  the  merchant  in  an  abrupt, 
harsh  voice. 

The  clerk  turned  at  the  sound  of  this  voice ;  but  if  he 
was  intending  to  speak,  he  was  silenced  by  the  haggard 
expression  of  his  employer's  face,  and  quietly  turning  to 
the  door,  he  was  about  to  open  it,  when  a  man  entered 
from  the  street. 

"  Garvin  ! "  muttered  the  clerk  as  he  passed  him ;  "  he 's 
doing  Cringar  no  good.  Any  one  can  see  that  with  half 
an  eye." 

As  this  man  entered,  Jonas  Cringar  trembled,  and  drew 
back  into  the  counting-room. 

The  new-comer  walked  through  the  store,  while  his 
boots  seemed  to  vindictively  grind  the  dust  of  the  floor  at 
every  step  ;  and  as  he  crossed  the  threshold  of  the  count 
ing-room,  he  extended  his  hand  to  the  merchant,  and  ex 
claimed  in  a  harsh,  metallic  voice :  — 

"  How  are  you  ? " 

Cringar  instinctively  drew  back.  But  as  his  eye  met 
the  glance  of  his  visitor,  he  stepped  forward  and  took  the 
proffered  hand,  allowing  his  to  remain  till  the  other  saw  fit 
to  drop  it ;  which  doing,  the  latter  seated  himself,  not  re 
moving  his  eyes  from  the  merchant. 

It  is  plain  that  he  is  a  man  of  power.  As  he  removes 
his  hat,  which  is  still  done  without  taking  his  eyes  from 
Cringar,  the  light  brings  his  head  and  features  out  in  bold 
relief,  affording  a  striking  contrast  to  the  appearance  of  the 
merchant. 

His  head  and  face  are  broad,  the  complexion  dark.  That 
which  first  strikes  the  beholder  is  the  eye  and  mouth.  The 
iris  is  of  a  greenish-gray  hue,  which  usually  is  rather  dark, 


8  THE   VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

and  not  remarkably  brilliant.  But  when  the  mind  and 
will  seem  actively  at  work,  as  at  the  present  time,  there 
appears  a  light  ring,  which  expands  and  contracts,  some 
times  almost  filling  the  space  around  the  -pupil,  and  again 
forming  simply  a  narrow  band,  giving  the  iris  an  appear 
ance  of  varied  colors,  and  an  expression  as  cruel  as  in  the 
eye  of  the  beast  of  prey. 

There  is,  however,  with  their  fixedness  of  look,  a  certain 
restlessness  in  these  eyes,  scarcely  to  be  called  a  motion,  as 
if  they  were  ever  on  the  watch  at  a  post  of  danger.  The 
mouth  unites  in  this  restlessness. 

The  upper  lip,  though  firm  and  biting,  has  a  continual 
tendency  to  show  the  white  upper  teeth,  as  if  it  were  in 
constant  expectation  of  these  fangs  leaping  out  to  fasten 
themselves  on  a  victim. 

The  upper  lip  and  chin  are  shaven,  the  whiskers  start 
ing  from  the  corners  of  the  mouth,  and  extending  in  a 
downward  angle  back  of  the  jaw. 

His  forehead  is  capacious,  and  rounds  into  thin,  dark 
hair,  which  is  sprinkled  (as  are  the  whiskers)  with  gray, 
and  fast  giving  way  to  baldness,  with  also  a  peculiar  dry- 
ness,  as  if  the  heat  of  an  incessantly  plotting  brain  were 
gradually  withering  it  away. 

Such  was  the  man  who  now  sat  with  his  eye  fixed  on 
the  haggard  merchant.  His  name  was  Daniel  Garvin  ;  his 
business  a  Wall  Street  broker. 

"  You  don't  look  well  to-night,  Cringar,"  he  said,  after  a 
quick  glance  to  the  photograph  and  back  again. 

"  No,  I  'm  not  feeling  well  to-night." 

"  The  battle 's  been  too  much  for  you,  eh  ? "  And  Garvin 
laid  his  hat  on  a  chair  near  him,  and  slowly  rubbed  the 
palms  of  his  hands. 

The  only  answer  Cringar  gave  was  an  inward  groan. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  9 

"  You  went  with  the  bears,  eh  ? " 

"  I  understood  from  you  —  " 

"  Pshaw,  man  !  —  well,  what  ?  you  understood  what  ? " 

"  I  understood  that  we  should  be  sure  to  win."*  And 
Jonas  Cringar  again  groaned. 

"  This  is  your  reward." 

"  My  reward  ? " 

"  For  not  putting  faith  in  me" 

"  You  always  bear  the  market." 

"  Not  always.  For  instance,  to-day  a  man  with  eyes 
half  open  could  n't  have  failed  to  see  how  the  thing  was 
going  to  turn.  There  are  times  when  a  man  must  doff  his 
claws  and  don  his  horns." 

Garvin  gave  vent  to  a  rapid  guttural  laugh  as  he  uttered 
this  witticism,  but  Cringar  looked  as  if  this  mirth  would  be  as 
appropriate  over  a  new-made  grave.  Rising  from  his  chair, 
he  walked  to  the  door,  turning  his  back  to  his  tormentor. 

The  broker  contemplated  him  a  moment,  while  the  rings 
in  his  eyes  seemed  to  gleam  with  a  phosphorescent  light. 
Suddenly  he  spoke  with  his  abrupt,  harsh  voice  :  — 

"  Cringar ! " 

The  merchant  turned  as  if  he  had  received  a  shock  from 
a  galvanic  battery.  As  he  met  the  deadly  eyes  of  the 
broker,  he  blanched,  for  he  saw  there  was  a  struggle  com 
ing,  and  to  enter  into  a  struggle  with  this  man  was  to 
engage  with  a  relentless  foe. 

"  Cringar,  you  're  not  playing  true  with  me." 

The  merchant  was  stung. 

"  Playing  true  with  you,  sir  ! "  he  exclaimed,  in  a  voice 
which  indicated  a  courage  of  which  he  was  capable  at 
times.  "  Do  you  have  the  face  to  fling  that  at  me  ?  " 

The  broker's  eye  gleamed  with  a  grim  smile,  and  his 
upper  lip  begun  to  play,  revealing  his  fangs, 
i* 


10        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"What  am  I  to-night,  sir?"  continued  Cringar,  "and 
who  has  brought  me  to  it  ? " 

"  Well,  what  are  you  ? "  rejoined  Garvin,  in  a  sarcastic 
voice,  eScquisitely  cutting. 

"  A  ruined  man  !•" 

"  Not  so  fast,  not  so  fast,  Mr.  Cringar.  You  're  not 
ruined  yet." 

"Ay,  a  ruined  man!" 

The  merchant's  countenance  assumed  an  aspect  of  pro 
found  desperation. 

"  Pshaw,  man  ! "  said  Garvin,  who  now  changed  his  voice 
to  a  tone  in  which  consolation  and  contempt  vied  for  the 
mastery ;  "  so  long  as  a  man  is  a  man  he  should  n't  de 
spair.  Now  I  think  I  can  get  you  out  of  the  bog,  and  set 
you  on  your  pins  all  right." 

Jonas  Cringar  turned  on  the  broker  fiercely. 

"  Despair !  Set  me  on  my  pins  all  right !  Be  done  with 
these  lies  ! " 

Daniel  Garvin  sprang  to  his  feet.  But  this  time  his 
eyes  met  the  eyes  of  a  man  who,  not  lacking  in  a  certain 
degree  of  strength,  was  now  roused  to  desperation.  The 
merchant  waved  his  hand  for  the  broker  to  be  seated,  and 
his  rounded  shoulders  straightened  into  something  like 
majesty. 

"  I  say,  be  done,  Daniel  Garvin,  and  hear  me !  You 
have  deceived  me  from  beginning  to  end !  Professing  to 
take  me  into  your  confidence,  that  you  might  get  mine,  you 
have  made  me  your  dupe,  and  the  victim  of  your  machina 
tions  !  You  it  is  who  have  tempted  me  from  my  legitimate 
business  into  speculation,  and  the  crimes  which  this  dam 
nable  curse  gives  birth  to  !  I  am  a  defaulter,  and,  with  no 
power  left  to  help  myself,  I  am  ruined.  To-day's  business 
has  finished  me  !  I  am  gone  ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        II 

With  these  last  words  the  merchant  sank  into  his 
chair,  and  covered  his  face  with  his  hand. 

Garvin's  eye  seemed  for  a  moment  to  be  disturbed  by  a 
sentiment  of  pity.  But  if  so,  it  was  only  for  a  moment ; 
for  it  instantly  settled  into  a  cruel,  triumphant  look,  as  he 
contemplated  his  victim. 

"  You  speak  like  a  madman,  Cringar,"  he  at  length  said. 

The  merchant's  only  response  was  a  tighter  clasping  of 
his  forehead  in  his  bony  fingers. 

"  You  speak  like  a  boy  who,  thinking  he  can  swim,  fol 
lows  another  who  goes  into  deep  water,  and  because  he  finds 
he  can't  swim,  he  splutters  out  that  the  other  has  drowned 
him." 

The  merchant  did.  not  move. 

"  You  are  pleased  to  say  that  you  are  a  defaulter  through 
my  machinations,  as  you  call  it.  This  is  nonsense.  Be 
cause  you  take  money  of  a  company  in  which  you  have  a 
strong  interest,  and,  as  treasurer,  deem  it  wise  to  invest  it 
for  a  short  time  for  the  benefit  of  the  company,  is  that  a 
crime  ?  If  you  did  n't  succeed,  it  was  your  misfortune,  but 
no  crime." 

Cringar  raised  his  head,  and  viewed  this  utterer  of 
plausible  sophistries  with  gloomy  eyes. 

"  Your  sentiments,  sir,"  he  said,  "  are  destroying  scores 
of  men  who  have  stood  as  I  once  stood.  It 's  of  no  use. 
I  'm  a  defaulter,  and  the  world  has  got  to  know  it." 

"  Why  has  it  ?    You  're  not  a  dead  beat." 

"  I  am  a  dead  beat.  I  have  lost  forty  thousand  dollars 
of  the  company's  money,  and  curse  the  day  I  ever  touched 
it ;  and  to-day  I  have  given  notes  that  cover  all  my  avail 
able  property,  including  every  cent  I  have  in  this  store." 

He  now  rose,  and,  turning,  gazed  in  gloomy  despair 
through  the  counting-room  window  into  the  store. 


12        THE  VETEKAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  broker  also  rose.  Unobserved  by  the  merchant  he 
stood  before  the  photograph,  and  bent  upon  it  a  dark,  ma 
levolent  gaze.  Then  he  placed  his  hand  on  Cringar's 
shoulder. 


CHAPTEE    II. 

"  1VTOW,  Cringar,"  said  Garvin  in  a  voice  which  he  knew 

-l-i  well  how  to  use,  "  I  can  get  you  out  of  all  this  diffi 
culty.  Perhaps  my  method  of  doing  business  isn't  the 
method,  for  you  to  adopt.  Now  that  you  have  come  out  so 
unfortunately,  I  'm  inclined  to  think  it  ,is  so.  If  I  made  a 
mistake  in  judgment  in  this  respect,  it  is  unfair  to  make 
me  guilty  of  much  that  is  worse.  I  have  meant  you  well, 
as  I  call  my  conscience  to  witness.  I  don't  mean  to  say 
that  my  methods  of  doing  business  are  perfect,  when  viewed^ 
by  the  standard  of  the  old  style.  Speculation  may  be  a 
dangerous  thing,  and  may  lead  to  acts  as  risky  as  war 
does,  and  to  strategic  deception,  as  war  does ;  but  war  is 
necessary  at  times,  and  so  is  speculation." 

His  auditor  did  not  move,  so  he  continued. 

"  Now  that  you  are  dead  beat,  and  say  it 's  of  no  use  for 
you  to  try  to  keep  your  head  up  any  longer,  —  in  short 
ruined,  as  you  put  it,  —  what  harm  can  there  be  in  giving 
me  a  fair  chance  of  bringing  you  out  ?  I  can  do  it." 

These  last  words  were  spoken  with  strong  emphasis,  and 
caused  the  merchant  to  turn. 

Garvin  smiled  in  his  face. 

"  Cringar,"  he  said,  showing  his  white  teeth,  while  his 
ring-gleaming  eyes  restlessly  passed  and  repassed  from  one 
eye  of  the  merchant  to  the  other,  —  "  Cringar,  if  you  really 


THE  VETEKAN  OF  THE  GKAND  AEMY.        13 

consider  yourself  dead,  what  harm  in  letting  me  try  a  little 
surgery,  with  the  guaranty  that  I  will  make  you  live  ?  " 

Jonas  Cringar's  mouth  began  to  work,  and  his  face  to 
elongate  in  a  manner  which  the  broker  understood. 

He  knew  he  had  conquered. 

He  took  the  merchant's  unresisting  hand. 

"  Now,  Cringar,"  he  said,  "  let  us  be  friends ;  at  least,"  he 
added  with  a  smile,  "  until  we  have  you  out  of  this  ter 
rible  fix." 

Cringar  was  not  convinced  of  Garvin's  sincerity.  But 
it  was  life  or  death  with  him,  and  he  now  listened  with 
the  resignation  of  despair  to  anything  he  might  propose. 

When  he  told  Garvin  that  he  had  made  him  a  victim  of 
his  machinations,  he  told  the  truth. 

But  he  was  not  the  chief  object  of  these  machinations. 

He  was  simply  the  tool. 

The  original  of  the  photograph  which  we  have  seen  the 
merchant  contemplate  with  such  emotion,  and  the  broker 
with  such  malignity,  is  the  man  on  whom  the  latter's  evil 
eye  is  ultimately  fixed. 

The  name  of  this  man  is  Allen  Paige,  half-brother  to 
Garvin,  and  partner  to  Cringar. 

A  merchant  in  uniform  is  but  one  of  the  many  sublime 
anomalies  of  the  Kebellion. 

From  the  opening  of  this  mighty  struggle  for  the  de 
struction  of  freedom  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  mainte 
nance  of  it  on  the  other,  Allen  Paige  yearned  to  join  the 
conflict. 

For  over  three  years  it  was  impossible. 

In  the  fall  of  1864  he  would  endure  it  no  longer.  He 
determined  it  should  no  longer  be  impossible.  Leaving 
the  business  in  charge  of  his  partner,  he  went  to  the  front 
with  the  rank  of.  Captain, 


14  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

He  fought  in  the  Army  of  the  Potomac,  and  rapidly 
mounted  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant-Colonel. 

At  the  battle  of  Petersburg  he  was  wounded  for  the 
first  time.  A  ball  from  a  Eebel  sharpshooter  struck  him 
in  the  right  breast  as  he  was  bending  forward,  and  pen 
etrated  to  the  lower  part  of  the  spine.  It  was  a  frightful 
wound ;  but  no  vital  was  hit,  and  he  was  not  killed.  He 
commenced  to  die  from  that  time,  however,  and  had  been 
slowly  but  surely  wasting  away. 

Though  younger  than  Cringar,  he  was  the  senior  partner, 
the  style  of  the  firm  being  PAIGE  &  CRINGAR,  for  his  supe 
rior  tact  and  energy  had  been  mainly  instrumental  in 
building  up  the  business. 

But  though  shrewd  and  energetic  in  his  business,  he  was 
free  and  open-hearted,  to  a  fault.  Quick  to  trust  those 
whom  he  called  his  friends,  and  slow  to  suspect  them. 

Up  to  the  time  of  his  return,  wounded  and  disabled, 
from  the  war,  and  for  several  months  afterwards,  nothing 
was  done  by  Jonas  Cringar  in  violation  of  good  faith  with 
his  partner. 

But  within  the  past  two  or  three  months  a  change  had 
taken  place.  A  serpent  had  commenced  to  wind  about 
Jonas  Cringar.  This  serpent  was  Daniel  Garvin. 

The  half-brothers  took  their  characters,  each  from  his 
father.  Daniel's  father,  the  mother's  first  husband,  was  a 
dark,  scheming,  tyrannical  man,  who  made  his  wife  miser 
able.  Allen's  father,  the  second  husband,  was  a  noble, 
open,  generous  man,  who  made  his  wife  the  happiest  of 
women. 

After  his  mother's  second  marriage,  and  the  birth  of  Al 
len,  Daniel  felt  himself  outlawed.  He  heard  much  of  his 
dark  father  and  his  resemblance  to  him. 


.THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  15 

He  hated  his  half-brother,  but  his  natural   craftiness 
warned  him  to  hate  in  secret.     He  concealed  it  by  a  gen 
eral  moodiness,  under  cover  of  which  he  would,  in  boy-  • 
hood,  dart  out  and  make  his  unsuspecting  brother  feel  the 
weight  of  his  pent-up  vengeance. 

It  thus  occurred  that  while  he,  with  more  or  less  fre 
quency,  gave  open  expression  to  his  hatred,  it  was  not  at 
tributed  to  hatred,  but  to  the  ungovernable  display  of  a 
bad  and  moody  temper. 

The  mother  and  second  husband  were  now  dead;  and 
Daniel's  secret  hatred  was  not  diminished  by  the  manner 
in  which  the  property  had  been  bequeathed.  The  bulk  of 
it  went  to  the  detested  half-brother. 

Avarice  is  not  the  least  of  the  dark  passions  that  govern 
a  nature  like  Daniel's.     When  he  found  himself  compari- 
tively  disinherited,  his  hatred  was  resolved  into  implacable 
vengeance,  and  his  avarice   devoured  him  with   an  un-    - 
quenchable  thirst  for  his  brother's  riches. 

But  the  stronger  his  internal  passions,  the  more  solici 
tously  he  concealed  them. 

When  Allen  Paige  returned  with  his  terrible  wound, 
Daniel  Garvin  made  pretence  of  sympathy.  He  called  at 
the  house,  and  his  countenance  assumed  an  expression  of  the 
profoundest  pity  as  the  wound  was  unbound  and  exposed 
to  sight.  He  declared,  with  well-simulated  impulsive  can 
dor,  that  he  had  up  to  the  moment  he  first  beheld  this  fear 
ful  wound  entertained  toward  Allen  a  feeling  of  bitter 
ness  ;  but  to  look  upon  him  now  would  turn  a  heart  of 
stone.  He  clasped  him  by  the  hand,  and  helped  dress  his 
wound :  and  who  so  tender  as  one  of  these  men  when  his 
schemes  demand  it  ? 

But  the  only  sincere  emotion  that  found  a  place  in  his 
bosom,  as  he  now  often  stood  by  the  side  of  his  suffering 


16  THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  AEMY. 

half-brother,  was  the  secret  but  intense  satisfaction  with 
which  he  saw  that  he  was  gradually  and  surely  dying  ! 

We  will  return  to  Jonas  Cringar. 

Through  this  man  of  complicated  strength  and  weakness, 
Garvin  commenced  active  operations. 

A  short  time  before  Paige's  enlistment  an  agreement  had 
been  signed  between  the  partners,  that  neither  should  en 
gage  in  any  outside  speculations. 

This  was  a  barrier.  If-  once  broken,  it  would  place  him 
between  these  two  partners,  enabling  him  to  take  the  ene 
my  in  detail. 

With  his  varied  arts  he  labored  to  entangle  Cringar  in 
the  interdicted  outside  speculations.  He  was  successful. 
Fire  brought  in  contact  with  wood  is  not  more  certain  of 
kindling  a  flame  than  was  the  flaming  temptation  of  specu 
lation —  rampant  in  those  days,  and  spreading  like  some 
vast  conflagration  —  of  starting  into  a  blaze  the  lust  for 
wealth  of  Jonas  Cringar,  when  once  the  broker's  arts  had 
been  brought  to  bear  upon  him. 

Once  entangled,  and  the  victim  could  only  struggle. 
The  history  of  scores  who  have  been  held  up  to  notoriety 
in  these  past  few  years  is  his  history. 

The  demon  of  speculation  first  devoured  all  his  own  im 
mediately  available  means ;  then  into  its  maw  went  forty 
thousand  dollars,  held  by  him  as  treasurer  of  a  Nevada 
silver  mining  company ;  and  now,  on  the  day  which  opens 
this  tale,  he  has  given  notes,  with  collateral  security, 
which  cover  all  property  he  had  remaining. 

Through  it  all  his  evil  genius  was  leading  him  on  with 
false  hopes  and  pictures  of  chimerical  fortunes.  For  once, 
as  we  have  seen,  he  had  in  his  desperation  been  "able  to  tear 
himself  from  Daniel  Garvin,  and  trust  his  fortunes  in  an 
other  broker's  hands. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        17 

In  his  downward  course,  beside  his  criminal  use  of  the 
funds  intrusted  to  him  as  treasurer,  he  had  committed  acts 
which,  as  he  thought  of  them,  made  him  tremble. 


At  length  Garvin  had  his  struggling  victim  in  his  power. 
He  now  prepared  to  push  forward  his  ultimate  design. 

A  few  days  previous  to  their  introduction  to  the  reader, 
he  had  dropped  into  Cringar's  ear  a  dark  and  diabolical 
hint. 

This  hint  revealed,  as  in  a  twilight,  an  atrocious  plot. 

This  plot  was  the  robbery  of  the  widow  and  orphan  chil 
dren  of  the  patriot  half-brother. 

By  means  of  his  subtle  arts,  he  had  been  appointed,  with 
Cringar,  executor  of  his  step-brother's  will.  As  executors, 
they  would  accomplish  the  work. 

Jonas  Cringar  had  entertained  a  sincere  affection  for  his 
partner,  and  had  been  received  into  his  home  as  one  of  the 
family.  But  he  possessed  not  the  character  for  a  long  fight 
against  the  powers  of  darkness,  for  the  sake  either  of  affec 
tion  or  principle. 

On  this  day  that  had  decided  his  fate  in  Wall  Street,  he 
had,  as  has  been  before  stated,  ventured  to  make  an  effort 
for  freedom,  by  engaging  the  services  of  another  broker. 
He  had  got  wind  of  a  certain  great  combination  of  the 
bears,  and  having  possession  of  what  he  believed  to  be  val 
uable  points,  he  put  up  a  margin  on  a  large  amount  of  the 
beared  stock ;  and  as  the  tide,  to  the  dismay  of  all  bears, 
unexpectedly  set  in  against  them,  "more  margin"  was 
called  for,  and  again  "  more  margin,"  each  time  with  a  yet 
more  frantic  voice,  and  at  each  call  the  merchant  covering 
with  yet  increasing  desperation,  till  the  crash  came,  and 
blasted  his  last  hope. 

We  have  seen  him  stagger  to  his  store,  and  have  wit- 

B 


18        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

nessed  his  anguish,  alone,  and  his  desperation  in  the  pres 
ence  of  Daniel  Garvin. 

We  left  him  passively  awaiting  a  proposition  from  the 
broker. 

"  I  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do,"  said  Garvin.  "  I  will 
give  you  the  advantage  of  knowledge  which  I  possess 
of  the  operations  of  a  certain  ring,  that  I  am  not  per 
mitted  to  speak  of  now  to  any  one  outside  of  it.  Suffice 
it  that  you  have  seen  me  win,  and  I  tell  you  I  shall  win 

•         »  « 

again. 

"  My  margin,"  uttered  the  merchant  in  a  gloomy  voice. 

"  That  is  what  I  am  coming  to.  There  is  no  difficulty 
about  it  at  all.  I  will  give  you  acknowledgment  of  margin 
without  cash  down.  I  recognize  that  you  have  n't  always 
been  fortunate  in  your  ventures  with  me,  but  now  I  am 
master  of  secrets  that  will  insure  success,  taurine  or  ursine. 
You  can  repay  me  afterwards." 

A  gleam  of  hope  lit  up  the  gloom  of  the  merchant. 

"  Mr.  Garvin,"  he  said,  "  give  me  a  start  that  will  enable 
me  to  pay  that  money  back  in  the  treasury  of  the  Bald- 
Eagle  Silver  Mining  Company,  and  I'll  bless  you  with 
prayers." 

"  It  shall  be  done ! "  exclaimed  the  broker  decisively, 
bringing  his  hand  with  a  familiar  slap  on  Cringar's 
knee. 

Then  fixing  his  malevolent  eye  on  the  wavering  orb  of 
the  merchant,  he  said  in  a  low,  ominous  voice,  — 

"  But,  Cringar,  the  night  is  going  by,  and  I  have  im 
portant  business  to  propose,  which  cannot  be  longer  de 
layed." 

Cringar's  eyes  suddenly  became  fixed  in  a  frightened 
stare,  but  he  remained  silent. 

"First  take  that  away,"  said  the  broker  in  a  voice  in 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.         19 

which  ^-command  and  guilt  mingled  ;  and  he  pointed  to  the 
photograph  of  his  half-brother.  • 

Cringar  hesitated,  but  starting  spasmodically  from  his 
chair,  he  took  down  the  photograph  and  set  it  on  the  floor 
outside  the  counting-room,  face  to  against  the  wall. 

When  he  had  again  seated  himself,  the  broker  proceeded 
to  disclose  his  plot  against  the  original  of  this  unendurable 
photograph. 

As  Daniel  Garvin  commenced  to  unfold  his  diabolical 
scheme,  the  perspiration  which  had  disappeared  from  the 
merchant's  forehead  began  again  to  make  its  appearance ; 
and  it  increased  as  the  broker  proceeded,  until,  no  longer 
able  to  endure  the  terrible  eye  that  was  fixed  upon  him, 
he  dropped  his  head  into  his  hands,  and  soon  he  formed  a 
repetition  of  the  picture  which  he  presented  just  after 
entering  the  counting-room  from  the  street.  His  hair 
again  became  matted,  and  his  long  bony  fingers  again 
quiveringly  clutched  his  head  under  the  scanty  locks. 

The  broker  marked  tjie  effect  he  was  producing  with 
Satanic  triumph.  Each  separate  matted  lock,  and  each 
long,  quivering  finger,  seemed  to  cry  out  to  him,  — 

"  Master ,  ~belwld  your  dave  !  " 

At  length  he  finished,  and  then  sat  contemplating  the. 
suffering  merchant,  who  seemed  too  stunned  to  move. 

Jonas  Cringar  finally  raised  his  head,  and  as  his  face  met 
the  light  it  seemed  to  have  grown,  in  the  last  five  minutes, 
twenty  years  older.  It  was  drawn  to  an  unwonted  length, 
and  his  chest  heaved  as  if  some  heavy  weight  were  press 
ing  upon  it. 

He  rose  from  his  seat,  and  with  an  unsteady,  and  sort  of 
tottering  stride,  he  passed  and  repassed  between  the  door 
and  chair,  clutching  the  back  of  the  latter  each  time  he 
approached  it,  as  if  for  support. 


20  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

At  last  he  stopped  with  his  hand  clasping  the  back  of 
the  chair,  and  fairned  to  Garvin. 

At  this  instant  the  store  door  was  thrown  open  and  a 
man  hastened  to  the  counting-room  and  exclaimed,  — 

"  Mr.  Paige  is  dying  !  " 


CHAPTEK    III. 

THE  chamber  in  which  Allen  Paige  had  been  confined 
an  invalid  for  so  long  a  time  was  located  in  the  L  of 
the  house,  which  was  situated  on  West  Twenty-seventh 
Street.  It  received  the  sun  throughout  the  greater  part  of 
the  day,  and  this  fact,  together  with  its  seclusion  from  the 
noise  of  passing  vehicles,  had  rendered  it  peculiarly  favor 
able  as  a  room  for  an  invalid  unusually  sensitive  to  chill 
and  noise.  Here,  with  his  wife  and  daughter  to  attend 
him,  he  spent  month  after  month  of  uncomplaining  illness, 
rather  inspiring  those  around  him  with  buoyant  spirits, 
than  seeming  to  need  such  inspiration  himself. 

As  we  have  said,  his  nature  was-  free  and  generous,  and 
his  desire  to  cause  no  trouble  on  his  account,  combined 
with  a  natural  elasticity  of  spirits,  had  filled  this  sick- 
chamber  with  an  almost  perpetual  sunshine,  even  when 
the  clouds  hid  the  sun  in  the  sky.  I  say  almost  perpetual, 
for  times  there  were  when  even  his  elastic  courage  was 
unable  to  conquer  the  pain  which  would  occasionally  come 
on  in  an  unexpected  moment,  and  seizing  him  in  its  grip, 
compel  a  groan  of  agony. 

Such  moments  served,  however,  to  reveal  in  stronger 
light  the  fortitude  of  this  patient  sufferer ;  and  not  un- 
frequently  the  affectionate  mother  or  daughter,  touched 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        21 

too  deeply  by  this  display  of  suffering,  and  by  the  thought 
of  much  more  suffering  which  was  endured  in  silence,  be 
ing  unable  to  control  their  emotions  would  hastily  quit  the 
room  and  weep. 

But  he  was  not  often  deceived.  The  reddened  eye 
would  tell  the  tale,  and  then  he  would  put  on  so  playful 
and  sportive  an  air  that  she  who  but  a  short  time  before 
was  weeping  would  now  find  herself  smiling  and  laughing 
as  if  all  were  enjoyment. 

It  was  rare  that  these  devoted  nurses  permitted  any  one 
to  take  their  place ;  and  often  as  the  wounded  soldier  lay 
and  gazed  upon  them  in  the  midst  of  their  tender  labors, 
he  would  silently  call  down  upon  them  the  benedictions 
of  Heaven. 

Isabel,  the  wife  of  Allen  Paige,  was  one  of  those  wo 
men  of  whom  many  are  found  to  redeem  the  sex  from  the 
obloquy,  which  is  often  unjustly  attached  to  it  through  that 
class  whose  houses  are  the  dry-good  stores,  and  whose  fire 
sides  are  the  opera. 

Her  appearance  prepossesses  the  beholder  at  once.  Of 
medium  height,  her  countenance  especially  impresses  one 
with  its  goodness.  She  possesses  beauty  to  a  high  degree ; 
but  her  air  is  so  marked  of  one  who  devotes  herself  to  the 
duties  of  life,  to  the  entire  exclusion  of  all  'vanity,  that 
the  beholder  instinctively  shrinks  from  gazing  upon  her 
countenance  with  any  thought  of  this  beauty  only  as  it 
expresses  her  virtues.  Her  form  is  noble,  and  a  grace 
pervades  it,  which  advancing  years  cannot  remove. 

Emma,  the  eldest  daughter,  is  nineteen  years  of  age,  and 
rarely  does  the  eye  find  such  pleasure  as  in  the  contempla 
tion  of  this  charming  girl. 

She  is  not  so  tall  as  her  mother,  but  equally  well  pro 
portioned,  her  form  impressing  one  with  an  exquisite 


22        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

combination  of  lightness,  grace,  and  maidenly  dignity. 
Her  eye  is  of  a  dark  hazel ;  her  nose  just  enough  relieved 
from  the  straight  to  give  life  and  character ;  her  mouth 
full  and  finely  formed,  with  a  certain  action,  as  the  lips 
meet  in  the  middle,  which  I  have  observed  to  be  accompa 
nied  with  purity ;  her  face  is  a  full  oval,  with  an  expression, 
as  the  cheek  descends  in  a  rich  curve  from  the  ear  to  the 
chin,  which  implies  great  force  of  character  with  a  remark 
ably  affectionate  disposition ;  her  hair  is  of  a  rich  brown, 
and  is  slightly  brushed  away  in  a  waving  roll  from  a  classic 
forehead,  which,  with .  its  purely  feminine  air  of  thought, 
affords  a  fit  crown  for  all  the  other  beauties  of  the  face. 

Besides  Emma,  there  are  three  other  children  of  this  fam 
ily  :  Alice,  a  charming  and  faithful  young  girl  of  thirteen 
years,  who  proves  herself  of  great  aid  in  the  attendance  on 
her  father;  Albert,  a  thoughtful  boy,  two  years  younger, 
who,  even  at  this  early  age,  is  at  the  head  of  the  first  class 
of  the  public  school ;  and  Little  t)orrit,  as  they  call  her, 
her  name  being  Dora,  who  is  seven  years  old,  and  the  pet 
of  the  whole  family. 

On  the  day  previous  to  the  one  which  has  opened  our 
story,  Allen  Paige  had  begun  to  sink  rapidly,  and  as  this 
succeeding  day  dragged  its  painful  hours,  it  was  evident 
that  the  moment  of  dissolution  was  near  at  hand. 

He  seemed  insensible  mast  of  the  day,  but  as  evening 
approached  he  indicated  returning  consciousness. 

It  was  about  six  o'clock.  He  had  in  his  wanderings  been 
giving  orders  to  his  men,  whom  he  fancied  marching  with 
him  into  battle. 

. "  By  the  right  flank  !  —  Steady,  men  !  —  Halt !  —  Eeady 
—  aim  —  fire  !  —  Steady  !  —  Fire  at  will !  —  First  Company 
deploy  as  skirmishers  ! "  were  incoherently  uttered  at  inter 
vals,  as  he  might  imagine  himself  a  line  or  field  officer. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        23 

There  was  something  inexpressibly  touching  in  the  man 
ner  of  the  mother  and  eldest  daughter,  as  they  listened  to 
this  raving  re-enactment  of  these  terrible  scenes  of  battle. 

While  grief  took  possession  of  their  countenances,  there 
was  yet  mingled  with  it  an  expression  of  tender  pride,  as 
they  seemed  to  witness  in  his  unconscious  pictures  those 
acts  of  bravery  which  had  won  him  distinction  in  the  field. 
They  saw  their  husband  and  father  marching  to  his  duty  as 
a  patriot  who  loved  his  country  and  was  ready  to  die  for  it ; 
and,  in  their  sorrow,  their  souls  seemed  pervaded  by  the 
lofty  sentiment  that,  though  spared  to  them  for  so  many 
months,  now  were  they  ready  to  yield  him  a  sacrifice  on 
the  altar  of  his  country. 

A  soldier's  family,  —  his  widow,  his  orphan  children ; 
they  who  gave  their  protector  and  support  to  their  coun 
try,  strengthening  him  with  their  love,  encouragement,  and 
blessing,  and  thanking  God  that  they  could  give  one  to 
fight  for  Liberty  ;  —  what  objects  more  worthy  the  protec 
tion  of  a  preserved  nation  ? 

Such  thoughts  cannot  fail  to  inspire  the  breast  of  him  who 
beholds  the  scene  around'the  dying  bed  of  this  patriot  soldier. 

As  the  dying  man  was  in  the  midst  of  an  order  to  storm 
the  breastworks  of  the  enemy,  he  awoke  to  consciousness. 

At  this  instant  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  were  cast  in 
golden  light  across  his  face.  * 

The  wife  made  a  movement  to  close  the  curtain,  but  by 
a  look  he  detained  her. 

"  Let  it  rest  upon  me,"  he  faintly  uttered.  "  I  would 
fain  let  this  messenger  from  the  skies  baptize  me  before  I 
go  hence.  Ah  !  how  near  heaven  seems  to  me  now  ! " 

By  a  beautiful  coincidence,  as  he  uttered  these  words, 
a  soft  strain  of  music  floated  through  the  air,  and  seemed 
to  mingle  its  harmonies  with  these  baptizing  rays  of  the 
golden  sun. 


24        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

This  music,  so  enchanting  and  so  opportune,  was  pro 
duced  by  a  quartette  of  male  and  female  voices,  who  were 
rehearsing  that  beautiful  chant,  "  THY  WILL  BE  DONE,"  in 
tones  of  exquisite  harmony  and  sentiment. 

As  the  closing  words  of  each  verse,  "  THY  WILL  BE  DONE," 
floated  into  the  chamber,  and  reached  the  ears  of  the  dying 
patriot,  his  countenance  kindled  with  adoration,  and  his 
dimming  eyes  turned  to  heaven,  while  his  lips  moved  as  if 
he  were  joining  in  the  chant  with  invisible  angels. 

It  was  not  sorrow;  it  was  not  grief;  but  tears  rolled, 
down  the  cheeks  of  the  mother  and  daughter,  and  they 
knelt  by  the  bedside,  and  with  clasped  hands  silently 
united  in  this  inspired  prayer  to  Heaven,  while  Alice  and 
her  brother  Albert  stood  in  reverent  awe,  their  youthful 
i,ouls  penetrated  by  the  touching  sacredness  of  this  scene. 

As  the  third  verse  was  bearing  these  adoring  souls  up 
ward  to  God,  the  door  was  silently  opened  by  the  servant, 
and  a  young  man  crossed  the  threshold. 

The  scene  before  him  caused  him  to  pause,  and  he  stood 
immovable  as  he  contemplated  this  profoundly  impressive 
picture. 

The  sun's  rays  had  passed  the  face  of  the  soldier,  and 
now  with  even  a  yet  more  glorious  light,  appeared  to  encir 
cle  his  head  with  the  sacred  nimbus,  while  the  music,  fill 
ing  the  room  from  an  unseen  source,  seemed  in  combina 
tion  with  this  light  to  come  from  the  unseen  world. 

This  young  man  was  of  a  nature  rendering  him  unusu 
ally  impressible  to  such  a  scene ;  and  as  he  stood  by  the 
threshold  without  moving,  a  trembling  seized  him,  and  his 
eyes  were  suffused  with  tears.  His  effeminate  face,  slight 
ly  touched  with  a  downy  beard,  his  full  blue  eyes,  and  fine, 
light,  wavy  hair,  at  once  indicate  this  sensitive  nature,  com 
bined  as  they  are  with  a  slight  and  delicate  form. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  25 

His  soul  is  evidently  kindred  with  the  soul  of  the  family 
before  him,  for  his  emotions  seem  not  merely  quickened  by 
the  outward  picture,  but  from  a  deep  sympathy  of  spirit. 

The  last  tones  of  the  chant  now  hover  through  the  room, 
and  as  they  die  away,  the  golden  light,  lingering  a  moment 
afterwards,  like  some  sweet  refrain,  passes  away  with  them, 
leaving  silence  and  the  shades  of  evening  in  their  place. 

Allen  Paige  now  turned  his  head,  and  the  wife  and 
daughter  rose.  Looking  toward  the  door  he  smiled,  and 
Mrs.  Paige,  turning,  discovered  the  visitor. 

He  was  now  greeted  as  if  he  were  one  of  the  family,  and 
he  came' forward  and  spoke  to  his  uncle;  for,  strange  as 
was  the  anomaly,  this  light,  delicate,  and  ethereal  young 
man  was  the  son  of  Daniel  Garvin. 

And  yet  not  so  strange,  for  he  was  a  complete  transcript 
of  his  mother,  whose  delicate  organization,  with  her  uncon 
trollable  sensitiveness,  had  yielded  to  the  harsh  contact 
of  the  father's  unfeeling  and  aggressive  nature,  and  found 
that  peace  in  death  which  she  never  found  after  her  mar 
riage  in  life. 

William,  for  this  was*  his  name,  now  offered  to  act  as 
nurse  for  a  while ;  and  with  the  promise  that  he  would  call 
them  at  the  first  indication  of  a  change,  the  family,  yielding 
to  the  desires  of  the  now  somewhat  reviving  patient,  left 
the  room  for  a  brief  respite  from  the  cares  of  the  sick- 
chamber,  and  to  attend  to  necessary  household  duties. 

Soon  after  they  had  retired,  the  soldier  fell  into  a  quiet 
sleep. 

He  slept  thus  for  about  two  hours.  When  he  awoke 
it  was  evident  the  end  was  approaching.  There  was  a 
marked  change,  which  the  doctor,  who  came  in  a  few 
moments  afterwards,  pronounced  the  change  of  death. 

The  family  were  now  called  to  the  bedside,  and  the 
•2 


26  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  AEMY. 

dying  man,  having  expressed  a  desire  that  his  brother  and 
partner  should  be  present  before  he  passed  away,  William 
Garvin  volunteered  to  seek  them.  , 

It  was  he  who  entered  the  store  so  suddenly,  and  gave 
the  announcement  as  recorded  at  the  close  of  the  second 
chapter. 

On  the  utterance  of  this  announcement,  the  broker  took 
his  hat,  and,  with  a  meaning  glance  at  the  merchant,  went 
out  of  the  counting-room  in  silence. 

Jonas  Cringar  followed,  also  in  silence. 

Both  were  startled ;  but  while  Daniel  Garvin  recovered 
himself  immediately,  the  merchant  shivered  perceptibly 
as  he  followed  the  former  out  of  the  store,  and  his  long 
hands  clenched  and  unclenched  themselves  incessantly, 
indicating  a  terrible  conflict. 

As  they  entered  the  chamber,  Allen  Paige  greeted  them 
with  a  look  which  long  afterwards  haunted  Jonas  Cringar, 
and  then  turned  his  eyes  with  an  imploring  glance  on 
his  family. 

They  approached  the  bed,  but,  as  the  dying  soldier  at 
tempted  to  speak,  his  tongue  refused  its  office,  and  with 
another  of  those  looks,  which  were  destined  to  disturb  the 
future  sleep  of  the  merchant,  he  relapsed  into  unconscious 
ness. 

Had  the  invisible  beings,  whom  the  dying  so  often  con 
template,  warned  this  devoted  husband  and  father  of  the 
diabolical  plot  of  which  his  loved  ones  were  the  intended 
victims  ? 

None  here  can  tell ;  but  such  a  thought  penetrated  to  the 
guilty  conscience  of  Jonas  Cringar,  and  he  trembled  as 
the  devils  tremble  who  believe  that  there  is  one  God. 

The  soldier  now  commenced  re-enacting  the  martial 
scenes  of  his  military  life. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  27 

At  length  he  began  talking  in  tones  of  the  profoundest 
affection  of  a  comrade,  whom  he  spoke  of  only  as  Pres- 
cott. 

"  Who  is  this  PrescDtt  ?  "  asked  Daniel  Garvin,  who 
seemed  slightly  ill  at  ease. 

"  He  was  a  dear  friend  of  Mr.  Paige.  He'  was  a  lieuten 
ant  of  cavalry.  His  name  is  Prescott  Marland,"  replied 
Mrs.  Paige. 

"Father  seems  to  have  loved  him  as  a  son,  and  has 
often  wished  that  we  were  acquainted  with  him,"  added 
Emma. 

As  Emma  said  this,  William  Garvin  turned  suddenly  to 
ward  her,  and  his  delicate  features  were  disturbed  by  an 
expression  which  caused  a  slight  blush  to  suffuse  her  face. 
In  another  instant  he  seemed  to  realize  where  he  was,  and 
the  'solemnity  of  the  event  in  which  he  was  then  to  a  de 
gree  an  actor,  and  with  a  frown  of  self-reproach  he  turned 
his  gaze  to  the  dying. 

The  patriot's  utterances  now  grew  fainter  and  more  and 
more  incoherent. 

At  length  he  lay  still  and  silent,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the 
spirit  had  finally  departed. 

But  suddenly  he  started  from  his  pillow  with  that  ap 
parently  supermundane  strength  which  the  dying  so  often 
reveal,  and,  waving  his  arm,  he  shouted  :  "  Forward,  men  ! 
To-day  you  conquer  !  Remember  your  country  ! " 

Then  sinking  back,  he  gave  signs  of  the  last  moments. 
His  eye  began  to  glaze,  and  his  breath  to  labor. 

At  this  instant  the  door  opened,  and  a  tall  man  of 
majestic,  military  bearing  silently  entered  the  room,  and, 
reverentially  approaching  the  bed,  gazed  on  the  expiring 
patriot  with  an  expression  of  profound  solemnity. 

With  one  exception  he  was  unobserved  by  those  around 


28        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

the  bed,  who  watched  with  all-absorbing  attention  the 
last  signs  of  life  in  the  form  before  them. 

The  broker  was  the  only  one  who  observed  this  new 
comer,  and  as  he  fixed  his  sinister-  eye  upon  him  he  felt  a 
nameless  foreboding. 

The  eye  of  the  stranger,  as  if  drawn  by  the  power  of 
magnetism,  turned  for  a  moment  from  the  dying  soldier, 
and  met  the  eye  that  was  fixed  upon  him.  Unconscious 
ly,  probably,  to  himself,  his  own  assumed  a  look  of  iron 
sternness,  and  it  seemed  to  the  inwardly  quailing  broker  as 
if  it  penetrated  his  most  secret  thoughts.  Turning  his  gaze 
again  on  the  patriot,  his  countenance  reassumed  its  expres 
sion  of  tender  solemnity. 

Presently  the  face  of  Allen  Paige  was  lit  up  by  a  divine 
smile.  His  eye  seemed  for  an  instant  to  break  through  the 
glaze  that  was  rapidly  covering  it,  and  look  into  heaven, 
and  his  lips  moved  as  if  he  were  speaking  to  the  awaiting 
angels ;  and  then  the  spirit  of  the  brave  soldier  passed  to 
its  home,  to  be  greeted  by  the  patriots  of  all  the  past  ages, 
while  the  mortal  face  lay  white  and  still,  with  that  last 
divine  smile  to  relieve  the  coldness  of  death. 

As  the  family  now  gathered  with  weeping  eyes  around 
the  motionless  form  of  him  who  had  loved  them  so  much, 
the  stranger  silently  withdrew,  followed  by  the  now  fur 
tive  glance  of  Daniel  Garvin, 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  29 


CHAPTER  IV. 

AFTER  a  few  words  of  formal  consolation,  Daniel 
Garvin  and  Jonas  Cringar  took  their  departure,  glad 
to  escape  that  chamber,  where  their  consciences  seemed  to 
hear  the  solemn  denunciations  of  the  dead. 

When  they  had  arrived  in  the  street,  Cringar  turned  to 
wards  the  broker,  and  opened  his  lips  to  speak ;  but  there 
was  a  look  about  the  latter  which,  for  the  present,  at  least, 
compelled  him  to  remain  silent. 

The  arch-schemer  had  not  been  so  absorbed  by  the  im 
pressive  scene  through  which  they  had  just  passed  as  to 
fail  to  take  exact  note  of  every  change  of  expression  which 
in  turn  agitated  the  countenance  of  the  merchant.  As  we 
have  seen,  it  was  a  face  calculated  to  reveal  in  a  strong 
manner  the  character  of  the  soul's  emotions,  and  the  bro 
ker  easily  read  the  fierce  but  suppressed  struggle  that  was 
going  on  within  him. 

The  reader  can  readily  imagine  the  nature  of  this  in 
ternal  conflict.  The  effect  of  the  look  which  Allen  Paige 
cast  upon  him  when  he  entered  the  room,  together  with 
subsequent  influences  of  that  death-bed  scene  of  one  whom 
he  had  learned  to  love,  and  who  had  never  failed  to  trust 
him,  brought  into  action  the  strongest  elements  of  virtue 
he  possessed.  As  he  contemplated  the  family  of  this  dy 
ing  friend,  and  thought  of  the  diabolical  nature  of  the  plot 
which  the  broker  had  opened  to  him  just  as  he  received 
the  announcement  that  called  him  to  this  scene,  his  heart 
had  nearly  rent  his  bosom ;  and  his  haggard  face  was  con 
torted  in  such  a  manner,  that,  while  the  casual  observer 


30        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

would  mistake  it  for  the  struggle  of  grief,  Garvin  well 
knew  that  a  crisis  was  approaching  in  the  soul  of  this 
wretched  man. 

The  broker  understood  the  situation,  and  prepared  him 
self  to  meet  the  decisions  of  a  perturbed  conscience  with 
the  force  of  an  unyielding  will.  Accordingly,  when  the 
merchant  turned  to  speak  to  him  in  the  street,  he  silenced 
him  with  his  look,  well  apprehending  the  nature  of  the  in 
tended  speech. 

But  Cringar  had  been  too  profoundly  affected  by  the 
mental  conflict  through  which  he  had  passed  to  be  silenced 
for  any  length  of  time. 

After  passing  into  Fifth  Avenue,  and  by  some  half-dozen 
blocks,  he  suddenly  stopped,  and  turning  fiercely  upon  his 
tempter,  he  poured  forth  a  storm  of  invective ;  and  in  the 
midst  of  it  declared  his  determination  to  be  done  with  both 
him  and  his  diabolical  schemes,  let  come  what  might. 

During  this  harangue  the  face  of  Daniel  Garvin  became 
more  agitated  than  we  have  yet  seen  it.  His  eyes  burned 
with  lurid  fires,  and  his  upper  lip  seemed  to  both  turn  and 
shrink  back,  to  reveal  in  all  their  glistening  array  the 
white  fangs  beneath  it,  while  the  entire  expression  seemed 
formed  of  a  devilish  grin. 

"  You  are  grateful,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  harsh  and  hissing, 
but  low,  after  the  merchant  had  come  to  a  stop  from  ex 
haustion.  "  In  the  first  place,  you  talk  too  loud,  and  in  the 
next  place  you  talk  like  an  idiot ! " 

"  None  of  your  damnable  thrusts  and  cuts  !  1 11  have 
none  of  them  ! "  exclaimed  Cringar  with  desperate  courage. 

"  Cuts  !  so  you  have  decided  to  cut  me,  have  you  ? " 

"  Cut  you,  yes !  and  may  the  devils  incarnate  quarter 
you  too  !  If  you  dare  push  this  thing,  may  the  dead  curse 
you!" 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        31 

The  broker  quietly  approached  a  lamp-post  that  was 
near  by,  and  taking  out  a  large  wallet,  opened  it  and  drew 
forth  a  piece  of  paper.  He  then  motioned  for  the  mer 
chant  to  approach. 

Cringar  obeyed,  and  Garvin  held  the  paper  under  his 
eyes,  so  that  the  light  of  the  street  lamp  should  fall  direct 
ly  upon  it. 

At  sight  of  this  paper  the  merchant  paled,  and,  stagger 
ing  back,  uttered  a  groan. 

A  patrolman  who  had  heard  Jonas  Cringar's  harangue, 
and  drawn  near,  now  apprehended  some  foul  play,  and  ad 
vanced  to  the  spot. 

"It  is  nothing,"  said  Garvin;  "my  friend  hasn't  been 
rightly  used  above  here,  and  his  excitement  has  made  him 
unwell." 

"  Yes,  it  is  nothing,"  said  the  merchant  in  a  faint,  broken 
voice,  —  "  nothing,  I  assure  you." 

The  watchman  withdrew. 

"  Well,  what  do  you  say  now  ? "  said  the  broker,  as  he 
carefully  folded  the  paper,  anS.  replaced  it  in  his  pocket- 
book. 

Cringar  remained  stunned  and  silent. 

Garvin  said  no  more,  but,  taking  the  unresisting  arm  of 
the  other,  he  led  him  away  as  one  would  draw  a  rudderless 
craft  along  the  shore. 

That  night  was  a  terrific  one  for  Jonas  Cringar. 

After  parting  with  Garvin,  he  went  to  his  store,  for  he 
could  not  go  home,  and  there  throughout  the  long,  gloomy 
hours  he  could  have  been  seen,  now  pacing  the  floor  with 
staggering  steps,  and  now  fallen  in  a  chair,  the  picture 
of  hopeless  despair. 

"A  forger,"  he  muttered  to  himself.  "Branded  as  a  for 
ger  !  —  no,  no  !  —  ah,  my  God  ! " 


32  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

This  paper,  which  we  have  seen  to  produce  so  powerful 
an  effect  on  the  astounded  merchant  was  a  note  made  to 
the  order  of  one  Samuel  Townsend,  whose  name  was  writ 
ten  across  the  back  as  indorser. 

This  name  was  a  forgery. 

The  forger  was  Jonas  Cringar. 

Speculation  -  the  cause. 

And  this  same  speculation  has  led  many  another  of  its 
votaries  to  the  commission  of  crime  equally  heinous. 

But  they  have  not  been  detected. 

It  is  the  nature  of  speculation  to  pervert  the  channels 
of  business,  and  corrupt  financial  character.  Men  who 
would  repel  with  abhorrence  the  temptation  to  certain  acts, 
before  plunging  into  the  Stygian  stream  of  speculation, 
would,  after  this  plunge,  take  to  them  as  kindly  as  the 
lamb  to  salt. 

So  with  Jonas  Cringar,  who,  it  will  be  borne  in  mind, 
was  continually  led  on  by  the  Satanic  influence  of  Daniel 
Garvin.  "  Kiting,"  "  shoving,"  and  the  like,  with  all  their 
attendant  slips,  lies,  and  notifications,  became  the  order 
of  the  day ;  until,  in  an  evil  hour,  the  merchant,  when 
pressed  to  desperation  through  the  secret  machinations  of 
Garvin,  made  out  a  note,  and  with  only  a  few  moments 
left  to  save  himself  at  the  bank,  forged  the  name  of  an 
opulent  friend,  which  name  was  gold  in  the  market,  and 
"  shoved  it  through,"  intending  to  take  care  of  it  the  next 
day,  "  no  one  being  the  wiser,"  said  he  to  himself,  "  and 
much  good  done,  and  no  harm." 

As  vain  as  the  sophistry  with  which  one  instalment  af 
ter  another  of  the  funds  of  the  Bald  Eagle  Silver  Mining 
Company  had  been  cast  into  the  abyss  ! 

An  eye  was  on  this  desperate  merchant. 

Early  the  following   day,  Daniel  Garvin  despatched  a 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  33 

trusty  messenger  to  take  up  this  note.  It  was  in  the 
hands  of  a  private  "banker  ;  and  Cringar  had  requested  him 
to  hold  it,  and  keep  the  transaction  strictly  private  on  ac 
count  of  peculiar  circumstances  which  he  could  not  make 
known ;  he  to  take  it  up  within  six  days,  paying  two  per 
cent  a  day. 

The  messenger  professed  to  come  from  Jonas  Cringar, 
and  laying  down  good  money  for  it,  the  banker  delivered 
it,  nothing  showing  that  it  was  not  all  right. 

Four  days'  time  had  elapsed,  and  during  these  four  days 
the  merchant  had  this  tnote  constantly  in  mind ;  for  now 
that  he  had  done  the  act,  —  done  it,  it  is  true,  without  in 
tending  crime,  —  he  began  to  realize  the  consequences  if 
he  should  be  brought  face  to  face  with  it  before  the  public 
eye ;  and  it  was  the  thought  of  this  forged  paper,  which  he 
supposed  still  in  the  hands  of  the  banker,  whom  in  his  dis 
tracted  efforts  to  save  himself  he  had  not  seen  since  nego 
tiating  the  note,  that  seized  his  soul  in  a  yet  more  relent 
less  grip  when  he  contemplated  his  utter  ruin,  as  previous 
ly  described. 

"  A  forger  !  Branded  as  a  forger ! "  exclaimed  this  vic 
tim  of  another's  wiles  and  his  own  cupidity ;  and  he 
wrung  his  hands  in  despair. 

The  Devil  triumphed.  Before  the  streaks  of  dawn  began 
to  appear  in  the  eastern  horizon,  he  was  the  slave  of  Daniel 
Garvin. 

The  broker  did  not  hurry  down  to  see  Jonas  Cringar. 
He  felt  too  sure  of  his  prey  to  do  this,  but  instead  he  oc 
cupied  his  time  in  laying  out  the  diabolical  work,  which 
had  for  its  object  the  robbery  of  everything  from  the 
widow  and  orphan  children  of  his  patriot  brother. 

Among  other  things  he  did  not  fail  to  call  to  see  the 
corpse,  and  offer  some  words  of  consolation  to  the  living, 
2*  o 


34        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

and  of  admiration  of  the  dead.  That  he  was  able  to  do  so 
without  exciting  suspicion  was  proof  of  his  mastery  of  hy 
pocritical  arts ;  for  while  he  uttered  these  words,  his  heart 
beat  with  an  exultation  which  few  could  conceal,  and  his 
mind  was  busy  with  malevolent  purposes. 

In  due  course  of  time  the  will  was  read  and  entered  for 
probate. 

Through  Garvin's  influence,  Allen  Paige,  with  his  accus 
tomed  generosity  and  lack  of  suspicion,  had  declared  his 
executors  exempt  from  giving  bonds,  thus  providing  one 
important  step  for  the  ruin  of  his  own  family. 

Where  legal  or  strict  business  transactions  are  concerned, 
let  it  be  remembered  that  generosity  may  so  act  as  to  turn 
the  edge  of  the  sword  from  those  who  deserve  it  to  those 
who  are  innocent,  and  whom  it  would  be  the  last  to  in 
tentionally  injure. 

The  operations  of  the  schemer  now  commenced. 

First  there  came  whisperings  of  complications,  and  of 
the  revelations  of  transactions  which  threatened  to  change 
the  entire  aspect  of  the  affairs  of  the  estate.  Isabel 
Paige  would  not  believe  these  things ;  but  in  times  when 
the  reputation  for  judgment  of  no  merchant  seemed  to  be 
proof  against  his  dabbling  in  speculation,  when  it  was 
no  uncommon  thing  for  a  man  to  die  reputed  to  be  rich, 
while  really  his  estate  would  be  found  inadequate  to  meet 
the  liabilities,  it  was  by  no  means  a  difficult  task  for 
the  executors  of  her  late  husband's  will  to  impress  the 
public  mind  with  the  truth  of  whatever  they  might  be 
pleased  to  assert. 

Although  Mrs.  Paige  paid  but  little  heed  to  these  whis 
perings,  feeling  sure,  -from  a  knowledge  of  much  of  her 
husband's  business  (for  like  a  wise  man  he  secured  a  good 
wife,  and  then  confided  in  her),  that  they  had  no  good  foun- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.         35 

dation,  yet   erelong  she  began  to  practically  feel  the  ef 
fects  of  these  pretended  revelations. 

As  executors  of  Allen  Paige's  will,  it  was  the  duty  of 
Daniel  Garvin  and  his  abject  slave,  Jonas  Cringar,  to  retain 
all  property,  real  or  personal,  belonging  to  the  estate,  in 
cluding  moneys,  until  its  liabilities  should  have  been  fully 
ascertained.  Under  these  conditions,  it  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive  of  the  position  into  which  Mrs.  Paige  found  her 
self  thrown.  For  a  while  she  was  enabled  to  get  along 
without  serious  inconvenience,  by  means  of  available  funds 
left  her  by  her  husba"nd,  but  erelong  she  began  to  feel  the 
band  as  it  was  being  drawn  around  her. 


CHAPTEE    V. 

i 

A  FEW  weeks  after  the  death  of  Allen  Paige,  Mrs.  Paige 
and  Emma  were  seated  in  the  library,  the  one  sewing 
and  the  other  embroidering.  At  first^  after  the  loved  form 
had  been  consigned  to  the  grave,  no  place  seemed  so  utterly 
lonesome  to  them  as  did  this  library.  Here  Allen  Paige 
had  spent  much  of*  his  home  life,  among  the  books  which 
lined  the  walls  ;  and  the  room  seemed  peculiarly  a  part  of 
him,  the  everlasting  absence  of  whom  caused  the  very  foot 
falls  to  echo  through  the  house. 

But,  as  day  succeeded  day,  the  feeling  began  to  change, 
and  in  this  room  of  all  others,  except,  perhaps,  the  chamber 
in  which  he  had  been  so  long  confined,  they  came  to  feel 
as  if  he  were  near  unto  them.  Here,  therefore,  they  would 
now  often  come  and  sit. 

Each  seemed  busy  with  her  own  thoughts. 


36  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Mother,"  said  Emma  at  length,  "  I  can't  help  thinking 
of  the  Deering  family." 

Mrs.  Paige  looked  up  with  an  air  of  anxious  interest. 

"  Do  you  think  they  are  in  trouble  ? "  she  asked. 

"  I  cannot  keep  them  off  my  mind." 

"  You  know  Mrs.  Deering  sent  word  by  Alice  that  Joseph 
had  a  place,  and  they  should  n't  need  any  more  assistance." 

Emma  said  "  yes,"  but  did  not  seem  satisfied.  She  con 
tinued  awhile  embroidering  and  thinking.  At  length  she 
again  spoke :  — 

"  Mother,  I  feel  anxious  about  them*  and  I  cannot  help  it." 

"  But,  my  child,  they  would  send  word." 

Emma  slowly  shook  her  head. 

"  You  know,  mother,  Mr.  Stanfield  recently  died,  and  it 
is  said  he  left  his  business  in  a  bad  state." 

"  I  have  heard  so." 

As  Mrs.  Paige  uttered  this,  her  countenance  assumed  an 
expression  of  anxiety,  as  if  she  were  thinking  of  the  reports 
about  her  late  husband's  estate,  which  Daniel  Garvin  was 
so  insidiously  circulating. 

"  And,"  continued  Emma,  "  supposing  they  had  to  dis 
charge  employees  from  the  store,  and  Joseph  were  one  of 
these,  how  would  they  be  situated  ? " 

"  Would  not  Mrs.  Deering  let  us  kno^  ? " 

"  I  fear  not.  You  must  consider,  mother,  her  pride.  She 
is  a  soldier's  widow ;  and  though  she  has  been  compelled, 
through  the  forgetfulness  of  the  people  her  husband  fought 
for,  to  depend  much  on  charity  as  if  she  were  a  beggar  —  " 

"  Too  true  ! " 

"  —  it  has  been  hard  for  her  spirit,  as  we  well  know. 
And  I  believe  she  would  have  starved  rather  than  be 
treated  as  a  beggar,  if  we  had  not  found  her  out,  and  made 
her  feel  that  she  could  accept  bounty  from  us,  because  we 
were  also  a  soldier's  family." 


THE  VETEEAN   OF  THE  GEAND  AEMY.  37 

Emma's  cheeks  glowed  as  she  spoke. 

"  And  do  you  think  she  will  now  hesitate  to  call  ? " 
asked  Mrs.  Paige. 

"  I  fear  it.  She  sent  so  decided  a  message  that  they 
could  get  along  comfortably  for  a  good  while  to  come. 
And  you  know  even  with  us  she  has  felt  much  humiliation." 

"She  has  shown  a  good  spirit,  however."  ,-• 

"Yes,  and  I  know  she  has  felt  sincerely  grateful;  But 
she  has  also  felt  under  too  great  obligations.  0,  how  I 
do  wish  there  would  be  a  society  formed  to  look  after 
soldiers'  families,  like  the  Masons  and  Odd  Fellows,  and 
societies  of  that  kind  ! " 

"  By  whom  would  you  have  it  formed  ? " 

"By  SOLDIEES  and  SAILORS!  those  noble  men  who 
fought  on  land  and  sea  for  their  country ! "  exclaimed 
Emma,  her  eyes  beaming  with  a  light  as  if  inspired  by 
her  father's  presence. 

At  this  instant  William  Garvin  entered. 

At  sight  of  his  beautiful  cousin,  with  her  countenance 
flushed,  and  her  eye  beaming  with  the  noble  sentiments 
that  moved  her,  he  trembled. 

"  Ah ! "  cried  Emma,  "  here 's  Cousin  William,  and  he 
shall  be  my  escort ! " 

"  Where  are  you  going  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Paige. 

"  To  look  after  the  Deerings,"  answered  Emma ;  "  and 
William  must  go  with  me." 

"WTith  the  greatest  pleasure,"  responded  William,  his 
face  flushing  with  happiness. 

As  the  reader  has  probably  inferred,  this  delicate  young 
man,  with  a  temperament  of  the  most  exquisite  sensibility, 
loved  his  beautiful  cousin. 

Though  they  had  been  together  as  cousins  from  early 
childhood,  William  Garvin  had  scarcely  entered  his  teens 


38        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

before  he  began  to  look  up  to  Emma  as  an  object  of  ado 
ration.  He  secretly  worshipped  her,  and  at  any  time  he 
would  have  laid  down  his  life  for  her,  as  an  enthusiast  will 
for  his  religion.  But  this  love  he  had  never  made  known. 
Nothing  he  dreaded  more.  It  was  not  associated  with 
ideas  of  possession;  she  seemed  too  far  above  him  for 
that.  But  he  contemplated  her  with  a  sort  of  rapture,  as 
a  being  whom  he  could  not  conceive  of  as  the  wife  of 
any  mortal  man.  When  she  would  speak  of  her  shoe 
maker  or  dentist,  he  wondered  how  these  men  could  dare 
profane  her  by  their  commonplace  touch.  He  looked  upon 
the  brush  that  brushed  her  hair,  and  the  combs,  and  all 
other  articles  of  her  toilet,  as  favored  far  beyond  such  ar 
ticles  used  by  other  women.  He  was,  in  truth,  jealous  of 
them. 

He  had  become  an  artist  by  profession,  and  the  influence 
of  this  profession  tended  to  enhance  the  sentiments  of  ado 
ration  which  held  such  an  all-powerful  sway  in  his  soul. 

Emma's  desire,  therefore,  that  he  should  accompany  her 
to  look  up  the  Deerings  made  him  the  happiest  of  men. 

"You  mustn't  be  gone  long,"  said  Mrs.  Paige,  "for  it 
is  now  late.  And  if  you  are  out  after  dark  in  that  part  of 
the  city,  I  shall  feel  anxious,  for  you  know  several  acts 
of  violence  have  been  recently  committed  there,  almost  in 
broad  daylight." 

"  Do  not  fear,"  answered  Emma,  "  I  have  William  for  a 
protector." 

On  uttering  this  last  remark  she  smiled  on  her  cousin, 
and  went  out,  he  following  with  a  throbbing  heart. 

The  Deering  family  had  lived  in  a  tenement  situated  in 
a  court  running  from  Third  Avenue,  and  thither  Emma, 
accompanied  by  her  cousin,  directed  her  steps. 

She  found  them  gone. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  39 

She  inquired  of  women  and  children  about  the  place 
where  they  had  moved  to  ;  but  they  did  not  seem  to  know. 

At  length  an  old  woman  of  haggish  appearance  came  to 
the  door  next  to  the  one  in  which  the  Deerings  had  lived. 

"  Git  out !  away  wid  ye ! "  she  cried,  brushing  the  dirty 
children  right  and  left ;  and  then,  adjusting  her  crimped 
cotton  cap,  which  flared  up  broadly  in  front,  she  called  out 
to  the  cousins, — 

"  Is 't  the  sowldhier's  family  ye  're  looking  for  ?  " 

"  Yes,  their  name  is  Deering,"  answered  Emma,  eagerly, 
at  the  same  time  approaching  the  hag. 

"  Yis,  by  the  name  of  Deering.  You  're  come  to  help 
thim,  I  suppose  ? " 

"  Yes,  we  fear  they  are  in  want ;  and  if  you  can  direct 
us  where  to  find  them,  we  shall  be  much  obliged  to  you." 

"  Yis,  yis,  I  know  ye  would,  sure.  Well,  by  me  sowl !  I 
pithy  that  poor  sowldhier's  family,  and  Margarit  Eoone  is 
the  woman  that  '11  dirict  ye  to  thim  without  any  thanks 
at  all,  sure.  Holy  Mither,  protect  us  !  but  meself  is  the 
woman  that  would  be  sthruck  dead  with  pithy  for  sich  as 
thim,  and  espishally  the  little  cripple,  —  Jasus  protect 
her ! " 

"  If  you  will  tell  us,"  interrupted  Emma,  getting  a  little 
impatient  with  the  old  woman's  volubility. 

"  Ah,  throth  !  an'  it  rs  meself  that  '11  do  that  same.  Ye 
'11  be  goin'  down  to  the  Avenoo  below  this,  and  —  " 

"  Second  Avenue  ? " 

"  Sicond  Avenoo  is  it  ?  Yis,  the  Sicond  Avenoo,  so  it 
is.  Well,  ye  '11  be  going  down  to  the  Sicond  Avenoo,  an' 
thin  ye  '11  be  afther  kaping  your  way  along  up  till  yez  pass 
Fortieth  Strate  and  along  beyond  that  till  yez  get  up  to 
Forty-sivinth  Strate ;  an'  it 's  down  that  same  strate  ;  it 's 
Margarit  Eoone  that 's  sure  indade.  Thin  it 's  meself  that 


40        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

must  think  — "  Here  the  hag  commenced  rubbing  her 
mottled  forehead.  "  Well,  thin,  ye  '11  find  an  open  space, 
that  ye  '11  be  after  knowing  on  account  of  the  large  excar- 
vations,  an'  there  ye  '11  find  a  small  bit  of  a  house,  which 
is  afther  being  not  the  one  ye  'd  be  wanting ;  .but  the  next 
house  is  a  high,  slim  buildin',  wid  archways  for  the  win 
ders  —  ye  '11  sure  an'  know  it." 

"  And  is  that  the  house  ? "  asked  Emma,  now  beginning 
to  fear  that  the  sun  would  go  down  before  the  old  woman's 
tongue  would  stop  its  wagging. 

"  The  same,  bless  your  swate  pretty  coontenance,  me 
lady!  I've  talked  much,  but  it's  Margarit  Eoone  that 
would  talk  much  more  ,  for  the  sake  of  the  sowldhier's 
family." 

William  Garvin,  who  had  remained  silent  up  to  this 
time,  was  vastly  pleased  with  the  old  woman's  compliment 
of  his  cousin's  face,  and  from  an  impulsive  desire  to  in 
crease  this  admiration  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  And  this  lady  is  a  soldier's  daughter  ?  " 

"  Holy  Mary  bless  her  ! "  returned  the  hag,  with  a  grim 
ace,  "  and  thin  Margarit  Eoone  is  sivenfold  rajoiced  to  send 
yez  on  your  way." 

On  the  utterance  of  this  benediction,  the  cousins  depart 
ed,  and  the  hag  withdrew  her  frilled  cap  into  the  door,  at 
the  same  time  muttering  through  her  broken  teeth,  — 

"  Bad  luck  to  thim !  if  they  hunt  till  they  find  the 
house  meself  has  given  thim,  it's  the  widow  of  Patrick 
Roone  —  pace  to  his  blessed  sowl !  —  that  hopes  much 
good  it  may  do  thim  !  May  purgatory  take  the  sowls 
of  the  whole  brood  of  thim  !  " 

This  hag  was  the  widow  of  one  of  the  rioters  of 
July,  1863,  who  was  killed  by  the  military.  The  very 
name  of  soldier  made  her  gnash  her  teeth  with  rage ;  but 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        41 

she  was  cunning  'and  did  not  always  show  it.  In  the 
present  instance  she  gnashed  her  teeth  in  secret,  and 
sent  her  inquirers  on  a  fruitless  errand. 

The  cousins  rode  up  to  Forty-seventh  Street  as  the  hag 
had  directed-,  and  then  proceeded  to  search  for  the  house 
she  had  described.  There  being  no  such  house,  their  search 
was  of  course  in  vain.  They  went  up  and  down,  and  up 
and  down,  from  one  street  to  another,  for  Emma  was  of 
pertinacious  temper  when  aroused,  and  William  was  only 
too  happy  to  have  the  time  extended  to  the  last  moment 
that  thus  enabled  him  to  act  as  her  protector. 

Eelying  on  the  old  woman's  direction,  Emma  had  not 
stopped  to  make  inquiries  at  the  court  about  the  condition 
of  the  Deering  family,  or  why  they  had  left  their  former 
lodgings  ;  but  now  as  she  was  seeking  them  in  vain,  the 
words  of  the  hag  in  reference  to  them,  and  her  own  fears, 
served  to  impel  her  on  to  find  them  if  it  were  a  possible 
thing,  her  excited  fancy  picturing  them  turned  out  of  the 
old  quarters,  and  now  dying  of  starvation. 

So,  though  night  was  coming  on,  she  still  persevered, 
while  her  cousin,  absorbed  in  the  delight  of  acting  as  her 
protector,  forgot  the  dangers  which  were  likely  to  attend 
this  delay,  in  a  part  of  the  city  where,  violence  was  of 
almost  daily  occurrence. 

In  the  mean  time  let  us  return  to  the  old  hag. 

After  retiring  into  her  den,  she  continued  to  mutter  and 
gnash  her  broken  teeth,  cursing  soldiers  and  Abraham  Lin 
coln,  —  " the  nagur"  as  she  called  him,  —  and  wishing  that 
his  soul  might  be  in  purgatory. 

At  length,  in  the  height  .of  her  solitary  fury,  she  sud 
denly  gnashed  her  fangs  with  such  vehemence  that  one 
of  them  broke,  and  she  spit  it  out  with  a  sound  between  a 
hiss  and  a  growl;  and  bounding  from  her  chair,  with  her 


42  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

back  rounded  over,  as  if  projected  by  a  spring,  she  bran 
dished  her  bony  fist,  and  with  a  horrible  grin  that  com 
pletely  overspread  her  repulsive  visage,  she  exclaimed,  — 

"  The  fine  sowldhier's  daughter !  its  Mammy  Eoone  that  '11 
furnish  yez  with  the  night's  lodgings  where  your  marvil- 
lous  beauty  will  be  appraciated !  and  where  they  love  the 
mimory  of  the  sowldhier ! " 

Then  taking  down  an  old  hood  and  shawl  from  a  nail 
driven  in  the  wooden  partition,  she  put  them  on ;  and  with 
her  dried  and  shrunken  lips  drawn  back  from  her  broken 
teeth,  and  her  bloodshot  eyes  glittering  with  diabolical 
passion,  she  opened  the  door  and  passed  out. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

AHALF-HOUK  had  elapsed  after  the  departure  of  the 
old  woman,  when  a  stranger  entered  the  court  and 
looked  intently  about.  The  women  held  their  gossip,  and 
the  children  ceased  their  noisy  play,  and,  drawing  back, 
gazed  up  at  him  with  open  mouths  and  wondering  eyes, 
overcome  with  childish  awe. 

The  appearance  of  this  man  is  remarkable. 

His  stature  is  lofty  and  martial  in  its  bearing.  It  rises 
considerably  above  six  feet,  and  is  so  finely  proportioned 
that  only  by  comparison  is  his  full  height  realized. 

His  head  is  large.  His  face  is  wide,  and  at  the  same 
time  projects  forward  with  aggressive  energy.  The  nose 
aquiline  ;  the  cheek-bone  high ;  the  jaw  long  and  massive, 
extending  the  chin  downwards  without  detracting  from  its 
executive  strength;  the  lips  somewhat  thick,  but  closely 
compressed. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  43 

The  eyes  are  gray ;  and,  combined  with,  a  sternness  that 
indicates  long  habit  of  command,  is  a  contemplative  fixed 
ness,  giving  an  effect  of  profundity  to  the. expression  of  an 
iron  will. 

This  is  enhanced  by  a  remarkable  scar,  that  deeply  and 
widely  indents  his  left  cheek-bone. 

His  hair  is  dark  and  thick,  and  appears  in  clustering 
locks  under  his  small  felt  hat,  which,  though  of  civilian 
form,  has  the  military  bend  to  it.  His  beard  has  the  cav 
alry  cut,  the  mustache  and  imperial  only  being  worn. 

Imperiousness,  severity,  high  temper,  quick  passions, 
magnanimity,  and  humor  can  "be  traced  through  his  physi 
ognomy  to  his  nature  ;  which  in  earlier  years  have  evidently 
held  independent  sway,  but  have  been  by  a  tremendous 
experience  compelled  to  harmonious  action. 

In  his  massive  head,  which  rounds  out  from  his  small 
hat,  with  its  wide  and  capacious  front,  is  seen  an  intellect 
corresponding  with  his  physical  power. 

The  forehead  is  a  forehead  of  plans  and  strategy,  and  it 
is  evident  that  he  cannot  be  easily  circumvented.  His  age 
is  difficult  to  judge,  but  he  appears  to  be  about  fifty. 

All  were  so  busy  staring  at  this  man  that  no  one  thought 
of  speaking  to  him,  though  he  had  asked  twice  if  the  Deer- 
ings  lived  there. 

At  length  a  washwoman,  who  was  evidently  American 
born,  came  forward,  and,  looking  about  on  the  gaping  peo 
ple,  cried  out,  — 

"  Are  you  all  deaf  ?  Do  you  keep  the  gentleman  stand 
ing  there  with  no  answer  for  him  ?  And  what  is  it,  sir  ? " 
she  added,  addressing  the  stranger. 

"  I  have  been  told  that  a  family  by  the  name  of  Deering 
lives  here." 

"  The  soldier's  family." 


44        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAJSD  ARMY. 

"  The  same."  ' 

"  They  Ve  gone." 

The  stranger  looked  disappointed. 

"Can  you  tell  me  where  they  have  moved  to?"  he 
asked. 

The  woman  shook  her  head. 

A  little  girl  now  ventured  to  come  forward. 

"  Please,  sir,  I  think  I  can  tell  you." 

The  stranger  bent  upon  her  a  look  which  encouraged  her. 

"  I  heard  Mammy  Eoone  tell  a  gentleman  and  lady  this 
afternoon  that  they  had  moved  to  a  tall,  slim  house,  next 
to  a  short  one,  next  to  an  open  place,  on  Forty-seventh 
Street." 

"  Thank  you,  my  child,"  said  the  stranger,  taking  out  a 
coin  and  giving  her.  "  And  who  were  the  gentleman  and 
lady  that  came  here  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  their  names,  sir.  But  the  gentleman  was 
small  and  slim,"  —  here  the  child's  eyes  wandered  up  and 
down  the  gigantic  form  before  her,  — "  and  the  lady  was 
very  handsome,  and  I  heard  the  gentleman  say  the  lady 
was  a  soldier's  daughter." 

The  grave  countenance  of  the  stranger  lit  up  with  in 
terest. 

"  A  soldier's  daughter  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir.     I  heard  him  say  so  to  Mammy  Eoone." 

The  stranger  now  turned  to  go.  But  just  as  he  had  left 
the  court  he  felt  a  hand  placed  on  his  arm,  and  a  voice 
said,  — 

"  I  would  spake  wid  ye,  sir." 

On  looking  around  he  beheld  a  little  Irishwoman,  who 
had  a  face  which,  though  pitted,  with  the  small-pox,  was 
kind. 

There  was  so  much  solicitude  in  her  countenance  that 
he  bent  his  head  at  once. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  45 

"  Mammy  Eoone  does  n't  mane  well  by  thim  that  was 
here  this  same  afthernoon." 

This  was  uttered  in  a  sort  of  hoarse  whisper. 

The  stranger%  brow  darkened. 

"What  mean  you?" 

* "  This  sure,  sir,  an'  it 's  not  Mary  Connelly  that  would 
tell  ye  an  unthruth.  It 's  riskisome,  sir,  to  be  tellin'  ye 
what  I  have  on  me  tongue,  but  I  could  n't  slape  in  peace 
if  I  did  not  tell  ye." 

"  Well,  my  good  woman,  what  i$  it  ?  " 

"  Well,  thin,  I  'm  nixt  neighbor  to  Mammy  Eoone,  an' 
afther  she  had  sent  the  beautiful  young  soldhier's  daughter 
an'  the  fine  young  gintleman  away  wid  a  dirictiori  that  I 
don't  believe  is  thrue  at  all,  she  carried  on  in  her  room  like 
the  wicked  Satan  himself  ;  an'  I  heard  her  spittin'  fire,  an* 
cry  out  with  a  horrible  laugh,  that  she  'd  secure  lodgings 
for  the  young  lady,  where  them  that  knows  could  appra- 
ciate  her  beauty." 

The  expression  that  took  possession  of  the  stranger's 
features  so  startled  the  little  woman  that  her  tongue  seemed 
suddenly  frozen  in  her  mouth. 

"  Well ! "  he  exclaimed,  under  his  breath,  "  what  more  ? " 

The  poor  woman  now  began  to  tremble  before  the  as 
pect  of  this  man  ;  but  a  reassuring  look  which  appeared  in 
the  midst  of  his  frown  gave  her  courage  again. 

"  And  thin,  you  honor,  she  went  away  with  a  slam,  an* 
she  's  no  friend  of  the  soldhier  nor  the  soldhier's  family,  sir, 
for  it  was  her  old  man,  Patrick  Eoone,  that  was  killed  in 
the  murdhering  riot.  An'  sure  she  made  the  family  you  'd 
be  afther  feel  her  wicked  spite,  and  a  betther  family  lives 
not  in  this  blessed  city." 

The  stranger's  military  mind  grasped  the  whole  plot. 

Placing  his  hand  on  the  little  woman's  shoulder,  "  If  it 


46         THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

is  as  we  fear/'  he  said/ "you  shall  neither  come  to  harm 
for  informing  me,  nor  go  unrewarded  ! "  and  then  has 
tened  away  for  that  part  of  the  city  to  which  the  hag  had 
directed  the  cousins.  • 

The  little  woman  gazed  after  him,  at  the  same  time  talk 
ing  to  herself. 

,  "  He 's  a  wondherful  man,"  she  uttered.  "  It 's  meself  can 
tell  by  his  eye.  An'  he 's  a  soldhier  too,  if  Mary  Connelly 
knows  ought  of  mankind.  It  was  an  awful  cut  he  got  on 
his  powerful  face,  sure  ! " 

She  now  watched  him  awhile  in  silence,  her  face  lit  up 
with  a  gleam  of  profound  satisfaction. 
.  Presently  she  again  spoke  to  herself :  — 

"  Now,  look  well  to  yourselves,  ye  mane-spirited  hire 
lings  of  Mammy  Eoone  !  If  ye  dare  do  harm  to  her  who 
is  the  soldhier's  daughter,  I  pithy  ye  !  I  pithy  ye  ! " 

And  with  this  she  went  back  into  the  court. 

It  was  now  dusk. 

***** 

The  sun  had  disappeared  behind  the  house-tops  of  the 
great  city,  when  Emma  found  herself  weary  and  discour 
aged,  after  her  long  and  unavailing  search. 

"  William,"  she  said  at  length,  "  I  fear  we  must  give  up 
our  search,  and  leave  this  poor  family,  Heaven  only  knows 
in  what  a  state  of  destitution  ! " 

William  was  about  to  answer,  when  Emma  uttered  an 
exclamation,  and  pointed  down  the  street. 

"  It  is  the  old  woman,"  cried  William. 

William  was  not  mistaken.  Eapidly  approaching  them 
with  a  halting  gait  was  the  old  hag,  who  had  suddenly  ap 
peared  in  view  from  an  intersecting  street. 

When  near  enough  to  be  heard,  she  cried  out  between 
gasping  breaths,  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  47 

"  The  blissed  Virgin  be  praised !  Mammy  Eoone  has 
found  ye  at  last !  It 's  been  a  hard  thramp  for  me  aged 
bones ;  but  it 's  your  dear  silves  that 's  found,  any  way ! 
Me  sowl  was  throubled  for  all  of  yez ;  for  afther  ye  had 
gone  from  me  sight,  it 's  meself  that  feared  I  had  been 
wrong  in  the  diriction,  an'  Margarit  Eoone  was  n't  the 
woman  to  set  back  in  her  aizy-chair,  an'  think  of  yez  not 
finding  the  sowldhier's  family,  — the  family  it 's  Mam  Eoone 
that  can  swear  on  the  blissed  Book  she  'd  cut  off  this  poor 
bit  of  a  shrivelled  hand  for !  An'  ye  're  a  sowldhier's 
daughther  yourself,  me  swate  young  lady  —  " 

"  We  have  not  been  able  to  find  the  house  you  directed 
us  to,"  interrupted  Emma,  impatiently. 

"  Ah,  but  the  blissed  Virgin  only  knows  how  Mammy 
Eoone,  —  you  see  they  call  me  Mammy  ginerally,"  —  here 
the  old  woman  showed  some  of  her  broken  teeth,  — "  an' 
it 's  afther  sounding  a  sort  of  social  like  —  but  let  me  see 
—  as  I  was  about  to  tell  yez,  the  blissed  Virgin  only  knows 
how  Mammy  Eoone  can  rattle  with  her  tongue,  —  but  her 
heart  is  right,  as  the  hiven  of  hivens  knows,  so  hilp  me 
God  !  —  an'  I  '11  prove  it  to  yez  same,  for  hav'  n't  I  hobbled 
up  the  long  distance  to  make  it  certain  that  ye  'd  find  the 
poor  unfortunates,  Hivin  bless  thim  !  for  —  " 

The  hag  here  wiped  her  eyes  with  her  dirty  shawl,  and 
then  exclaimed,  — 

"  But  the  good  Lord  protict  us,  me  sweet  lady  !  it 's  get- 
tin'  dark,  an'  it 's  no  place  for  sich  as  you  to  be  out  afther 
this  hour.  Come  with  me,  an'  it 's  meself  that  '11  prisintly 
show  ye  the  house ;  for  I  need  not  the  name  of  the  strate  to 
find  it." 

Having  spent  so  much  time  hunting  in  vain,  Emma 
could  not  think  of  returning  home  without  finally  see 
ing  the  family,  whose  sufferings  were  continually  pictured 


48        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

• 

in  her  excited  mind,  and  whom  she  now  felt  certain  of 
meeting  in  a  short  time,  under  the  guidance  of  this  old 
woman,  whose  worst  trait  she  thought  was  her  volubility. 

As  for  William  Garvin,  he  was  but  too  happy  in  yield 
ing  to  the  will  of  his  cousin. 

The  hag  now  led  them  from  street  to  street,  shaking  her 
head  as  she  went,  and  saying,  — 

"  It 's  not  near.     Ye  've  wandered  far.     But  it 's  meself 
thaj.  '11  lead  ye  straight  to  the  house." 
.  But  it  now  began  to  grow  dark,  and  the  old  woman  as 
sumed  a  plaintive  voice. 

"  Me  poor  eyes  !  me  poor  eyes  ! — the  darkness  throubles 
thim ;  but  niver  mind." 

So  from  street  to  street  she  led  her  victims,  every  now 
and  then  turning  away  her  head,  that  they  might  not  see 
the  drawing  back  of  her  shrivelled  lips. 

Objects  were  rapidly  growing  indistinct. 

The  hag  had  now  led  the  cousins  to  a  district  which, 
even  in  that  part  of  the  city,  was  marked  as  God-forsaken 
and  solitary. 

Emma's  heart  began  to  be  troubled  with  an  oppressive 
dread. 

Her  cousin's  face  indicated  that  he  also  was  not  free 
from  oppressive  fears. 

They  now  came  to  a  spot  where  the  very  houses  seemed 
more  like  dens  of  robbers  than  abodes  of  honest  people. 

As  they  entered  this  precinct,  the  form  of  a  young  man 
of  bold  free  step  appeared  from  a  cross-street  several  rods 
behind  them. 

He  paused  in  surprise  as  he  beheld  the  group  in  the 
dusk  before  him,  and  intently  observed  them. 

Presently  he  turned,  and  looking  down  the  street  from 
which  he  had  just  emerged,  he  whistled  softly,  and  then 
beckoned  with  his  hand. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  49 


CHAPTEE  VII. 

ABOUT  the  time  the  stranger  was  parting  from  the  lit 
tle  woman  with  the  pitted  face,  two  young  men  left 
Central  Park  by  one  of  the  eastern  gates,  and  wended  their 
way  to  East  Eiver. 

One  of  them  instantly  strikes  the  attention  by  his  fine 
athletic  form  and  noble  countenance.  His  full  and  hand 
some  oval  face,  with  its  dark  eye,  open  forehead,  freely 
chiselled  nose  and  mouth,  and  dimpled  chin,  captivates 
even  the  masculine  beholder.  There  is  an  air  of  freedom 
and  boldness  about  him,  whicli  indicates  that  he  has,  even 
at  his  early  age,  seen  much  of  the  world. 

This  bold, and  handsome  young  man's  name  is  Prescott 
Marland.  He  it  was  who  occupied  the  wandering  thoughts 
of  Allen  Paige  in  his  last  moments,  and  the  speaking  of 
whom  by  Emma  caused  the  glance  from  her  enamored 
cousin. 

He  has  just  come  from  the  West,  and  is  sauntering  over 
the  city  of  New  York,  with  which  he  has  made  himself 
pretty  thoroughly  acquainted  in  former  years.  His  pres 
ent  companion  is  a  clerk,  who  has  been  for  some  time  in 
the  employ  of  Jonas  Cringar,  and  who  has  got  off  early 
this  afternoon  to  take  a  stroll  with  him  through  the 
Park. 

The  sun  had  just  set  when  they  arrived  at  the  river ;  and 
as  the  last  rays  disappeared,  the  moon,  as  if  by  some  aerial 
signal,  rose  full  and  clear  above  the  eastern  horizon. 

Soon  its  white  rays  passed  over  Long  Island,  and  de 
scended  with  glistening  beauty  on  the  river ;  the  long  slim 

4 


50        THE  VETEKAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

form  of  BlackwelTs  Island  lying  in  the  midst  like  some 
sleeping  denizen  of  the  deep. 

Prescott  Marland  contemplated  the  beautiful  scene  before 
him  for  a  while  in  silence. 

Presently  he  exclaimed,  as  if  to  himself,  — 

"  OLD  THORBOLT  ! " 

His  companion  looked  at  him  in  surprise. 

Marland  laughed. 

"  This  moon  brings  Thorbolt  before  me,"  he  said. 

"Thorbolt?" 

"  Yes,  Thorbolt,  or  Old  Thorbolt,  as  we  used  to  some 
times  call  him." 

"  Who  's  he  ? "  asked  the  puzzled  clerk. 

"  As  strong  and  brave  a  man  as  ever  wielded  sabre." 

"A  soldier,  then." 

"  Yes,  a  soldier  and  a  VETERAN  ! "  exclaimed  Marland, 
with  admiring  energy. 

"  Come,  now,  there  's  a  story.     Tell  it." 

"With  all  my  heart.  You  see  Thorbolt's  name  was 
really  General  Hammond,  —  General  Julius  Hammond. 
He  's  had  a  tremendous  experience  in  his  day.  He  went 
into  the  war  with  Mexico  when  he  was  sixteen,  and  gun 
powder  and  steel  have  been  his  food  ever  since.  But  I  tell 
you  what  it  is,  he  's  no  adventurer  by  any  means.  He  has 
a  mind  equal  to  his  body ;  if  he  had  n't  have  had  he  never 
would  have  lived  to  see  this  day,  in  spite  of  his  gigantic 
strength  and  heroic  courage.  He 's  great  for  strategy." 

"Well,  how  did  he  get  his  name  of  Thorbolt  ?" 

"  That 's  what  I  'm  coming  to.  In  the  first  place,  you 
must  understand  that  few  men  could  match  him  either  for 
size  or  strength.  If  you  were  to  be  cut  in  two,  and  your 
upper  half  put  on  top  of  me,  your  head  would  be  about  on 
a  level  with  his." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  51 

"  A  pleasing  picture." 

"To  be  sure/'  rejoined  Marland,  laughing.  "A  sort  of 
half-and-half  picture.  Well,  that  gives  you  an  idea  of  his 
height.  But  there  's  his  breadth." 

"  Which  could  be  suggested,  I  suppose,  by  putting  me 
under  a  trip-hammer." 

"  Exactly." 

"  And  then  roll  me  up  to  get  an  idea  of  his  thickness." 

"  Capital.  The  long  roll.  That  long  roll  never  was 
able  to  get  more  than  half  through  before  Old  Thorbolt 
would  come  striding  out  of  his  tent,  armed  and  equipped 
for  the  fight." 

"  OLD  THORBOLT.  Now  will  you  please  tell  me  about 
that,  without  any  more  joking  ? " 

"  Certainly.  As  I  was  saying,  Colonel  Hammond  —  he 
was  colonel  then  —  was  a  man  of  gigantic  stature,  and 
with  a  strength  which  would  inevitably  break  some  of  our 
bones,  if  he  should  hit  us  with  his  clenched  fist.  The  long 
roll  came  one  night,  and  pretty  soon  we  had  it.  *  The  moon 
was  up  in  the  east  as  full  and  bright  as  it  is  there  across 
the  river.  Hammond  was  the  first  into  it.  Our  column 
was  ordered  to  his  support.  It  was  a  grand  sight,  that 
'  fight !  The  Eebs  had  advanced  up  a  sort  of  valley,  and 
when  we  came  in  view,  there  was  the  Colonel  at  the  head 
of  his  column,  slashing  into  them  as  if  they  were  .so  many 
corn-stalks.  The  moon  was  shining  right  down  the  valley, 
so  we  could  see  everything  almost  as  plain  as  by  daylight. 
It  seemed  to  make  Hammond  stand  out  like  some  aveng 
ing  god.  A  Norwegian  —  a  Major,  who  had  just  joined 
our  regiment  —  was  riding  by  my  side ;  and  after  watching 
the  Colonel  a  moment,  he  asked,  — 

"'Who  is  he?' 

" '  Colonel  Hammond/  said  I. 


52        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  He  misunderstood. 

" '  Hammer  ! '  lie  exclaimed,  '  Hammer  !  He  is  Thor's 
Hammer!' 

"Then,  as  the  Colonel's  sabre  threw  off  the  gleams  of  the 
moonlight,  a  Eebel  seeming  to  go  down  at  every  sweep,  he 
cried  out  again,  — 

" '  Thor's  Hammer  !    No,  't  is  the  BOLT  of  Thor  ! ' 

"'Yes,  Thorbolt!'  cried  another  officer.  'That  's  the 
name  for  him  !  Thunder  and  lightning  !  the  old  Scandina 
vian  God  himself  could  n't  do  better  ! ' 

"  That 's  the  way  he  got  the  name.  Sometimes  we  used 
to  put  the  '  Old '  on,  because  he  was  one  of  that  kind.  He 
looks  and  acts  fifty,  but  he  is  n't  more  than  forty  to-day.  I 
tell  you  what  it  is,  those  kind  of  men  have  iron  wills, — 
the  kind  that  get '  Old '  stuck  on  to  them  early." 

"  So  that 's  the  way  he  got  his  soubriquet  ?  "  said  the  clerk. 

"Yes,  and  I  never  see  a  moonlight  like  this,  that  it 
does  n't  remind  me  of  it." 

They  now  turned,  and  sauntered  down  the  river. 

"  This  is  as  good  as  a  romance,"  said  the  clerk,  as  they 
walked  along.  "  Tell  me  more  about  him." 

"Ah  !  you  ought  to  see  him!  It 's  a  tremendous  scar 
he 's  got  on  his  cheek  ! " 

"How  did  that  come?" 

"  In  a  fight  with  a  Eebel  infantry-man." 

"What,  swords?" 

"  No.  In  a  charge  on  Eebel  infantry  his  horse  was  shot 
under  him.  A  Eebel  private  rushed  forward  to  transfix  him. 
But  Old  Thorbolt  was  ready  for  the  fellow.  He  leaped  to 
his  feet,  and  at  it  they  went,  sabre  and  bayonet.  Those 
that  saw  the  duel  said  it  was  fine.  You  see  the  Eebel  was 
a  herculean  fellow,  and  they  made  the  sparks  fly  like  a 
blacksmith's  hammer  on  red-hot  iron.  Presently  they  both 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY..       53 

fell  at  the  same  instant,  the  Eebel  with  Thorbolt's  sabre 
through  his  body,  and  the  Colonel  with  the  Eebel's  bayonet 
driven  through  his  cheek-bone  into  his  mouth." 

"  Ugh  ! "  ejaculated  the  clerk,  with  a  grimace. 

"  It  was  a  terrible  wound,  that 's  a  fact,"  said  Marland, 
smiling  at  his  companion's  contorted  face.  "  But  he  was 
more  fortunate  at  another  time." 

"  I  should  hope  so." 

"  He  was  dismounted,  and  lay  wounded  on  the  ground, 
when  two  or  three  Eebels  attacked  him  at  once  with  the 
bayonet. .  But  he  warded  off  every  one  of  their  dastardly 
thrusts,  until  they  were  finally  put  to  flight  by  reinforce 
ments." 

"  I  should  think  he  would  keep  that  sword." 

"  He  does.  It  is  hanging  in  his  library,  with  other  me 
mentos  and  trophies,  with  gaps  that  you  can  almost  put 
your  finger  in,  made  by  his  powerful  blows  against  the 
edges  of  the  bayonets." 

"  You  speak  of  his  library.  Is  he  a  book-man  as  well  as 
a  warrior  ? " 

"  Yes.  You  know  I  told  you  his  mind  was  equal  to  his 
body.  He  has  an  extensive  library,  which  he  uses  to  as 
much  purpose  as  he  did  his  halting-grounds." 

"  His  halting-grounds  ?    What  do  you  mean  by  that  ? " 

"  Simply  this.  Whenever  the  column  in  which  he  held 
command  came  to  a  halt,  it  was  his  custom,  instead  of 
laying  back  with  his  eyes  shut,  to  scrutinize  the  sur 
rounding  country,  and  then. start  a  discussion  with  other 
officers  as  to  where  a  surprise  might  be  attempted  by  the 
enemy,  and  what  should  be  done  in  case  of  one.  In  this 
way  he  made  himself  master  of  the  situation." 

"  Good  !  He  must  have  been  as  able  an  officer  as  he 
was  terrible  as  a  fighter." 


54         THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  He 's  one  of  the  first  cavalry  leaders  of  the  age." 

They  now  struck  an  avenue,  through  which  they  con 
tinued  their  way. 

Both  walked  on  awhile,  thinking. 

"  I  am  greatly  interested  in  this  Veteran  of  yours,"  at 
length  said  the  clerk.  "It  seems  to  me  he  must  feel  a 
good  deal  safer  in  this  part  of  the  city  at  midnight  than  I 
should." 

As  he  said  this  he  began  to  look  about  him  with  suspi 
cious  glances. 

Perhaps  the  sight  of  the  Penitentiary  on  Blackwell's 
Island,  from  which  he  had  just  turned,  did  not  inspire  him 
with  the  calmest  of  thoughts. 

"  Yes,"  responded  Prescott,  laughing,  and  looking  around 
with  a  mind  evidently  untouched  by  solicitude,  or  such 
fancies  as  the  nervous  are  apt  to  indulge  in  lonely  places, 
"a  man  who  has  been  through  with  what  he  has  is  n't 
much  disturbed  by  such  places  as  these.  His  California 
experience,  when  he  was  a  mere  boy,  was  enough  to  in 
ure  him  to  New  York  dangers." 

"  Did  he  see  much  of  life  there  ? " 

"  A  good  deal  of  it.  He  was  scarcely  twenty  when  he 
was  made  sheriff,  and  any  one  who  lived  in  California  six 
teen  or  eighteen  years  ago  knows  what  that  means." 

"  It  means  a  good  deal  of  danger,  I  suppose,"  said  the 
clerk,  looking  about  him  again. 

"It  means  pistol-muzzles  lining  the  walls  of  his  hut, 
like  the  cells  of  a  hornet's  nest,  in  the  daytime,  and 
knives  hanging  by  hairs  from  the  roof,  like  the  stalactites 
in  the  Mammoth  Cave,  in  the  night-time." 

The  clerk  laughed  aloud,  and  then,  glancing  around, 
lowered  his  tone,  and  said,  — 

"  It  must  be  an  enjoyable  life." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        55 

"  It  really  was  to  one  of  his  make.  1 11  give  you  one 
little  incident  before  we  part,"  lie  added,  as  they  now  ap 
proached  the  street  where  they  were  to  separate.  "You 
will  bear  in  mind  that  this  was  in  his  youth.  Yet  with  all 
his  wildness  then,  one  can  see  the  same  traits,  only  in  a 
crude  state,  in  the  reckless  sheriff  of  California  which 
afterwards  appeared  in  such  grand  form  in  the  Eebellion. 
In  both  cases  he  was  always  studying  his  ground,  and  his 
mind  was  restlessly  engaged  in  mastering  probable  strategic 
points.  But  we  are  nearing  the  corner,  and  so  for  the  inci 
dent,  which  is  only  one  of  many.  You  see,  while  he  was 
sheriff  there  was  a  desperado  at  the  mines  who  had  defied 
all  other  sheriffs,  having  killed  one  of  them  and  wounded 
another.  Julius  promised  to  arrest  him.  He  found  him 
in  front  of  a  liquor-shanty.  '  I  have  come  to  arrest  you,' 
said  he.  '  All  right,'  returned  the  desperado ;  '  but  let 's 
come  in  and  take  a  drink.'  'Very  well.'  They  went 
in.  The  liquor  was  poured  out,  and  each  raised  his  glass. 
Julius  stood  leaning  against  the  counter,  with  his  glass  in 
his  left  hand  and  his  right  hand  thrust  in  his  side  coat- 
pocket.  Now,  you  see,  this  pocket  was  lined  with  leather, 
and  so  formed  as  to  receive  a  pistol  like  a  leathern  case, 
directing  the  muzzle  to  the  front  of  the  coat.  There  was  a 
pistol  all  loaded  and  cocked  in  this  pocket,  and  Julius  held 
it  grasped  in  his  hand  so  that  it  covered  the  desperado's 
body.  The  desperado,  who  also  held  his  glass  in  his  left 
hand,  lowered  it  for  an  instant,  looked  at  it,  and  then  raised 
it  again.  At  the  same  time  he  made  a  movement  of  his 
right  hand.  Julius  kept  on  sipping.  The  desperado  took 
another  look  at  his  glass,  and  commenced  scratching  his 
face  close  to  the  ear.  But  Julius  kept  on  sipping.  Sud 
denly  the  desperado  left  off  scratching,  and,  as  quick  as 
you  can  wink,  drew  a  bowie-knife  from  behind  his  neck. 


56        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

But  while  the  knife  was  in  the  air  the  pistol  in  Julius's 
pocket  exploded,  and  the  desperado  fell  to  the  ground  a 
dead  man." 

The  clerk  shuddered  as  Marland  finished  this  short  but 
graphic  tale ;  and  as  he  parted  from  him  the  dusk  of  even 
ing  seemed  loaded  with  dismal  gloom,  while  the  moonlight 
that  touched  the  house-tops  had  something  ghastly  about  it. 


CHAPTEE  VIII. 

THE  nervous  and  hastening  step  of  the  clerk  was 
rapidly  bearing  him  away  from  a  spot  which  ex 
erted  so  dismal  an  influence  upon  him,  when  his  progress 
was  arrested  by  the  sound  of  a  low  whistle.  He  turned, 
and  saw  Marland  beckoning  to  him. 

The  reader  has  already  seen  this  action  of  Prescott  Mar- 
land,  fgr  he  was  the  young  man  with  the  bold  free  step 
who  appeared  as  Emma  Paige  and  William  Garvin,  ac 
companied  by  the  old  hag,  entered  the  forbidding-  precinct 
which  seemed  so  fitted  for  the  dens  of  crime. 

Prescott's  manner  did  not  serve  to  allay  the  apprehen 
sions  which  had  disturbed  the  breast  of  the  clerk ;  but  his 
pride  would  not  permit  him  to  do  otherwise  than  respond 
to  his  companion's  signal.  As  he  approached  Marland,  the 
latter  placed  his  hand  to  his  mouth  to  enjoin  silence,  and 
pointed  to  the  group  which  had  so  fixed  his  attention. 

"  Who  are  they  ? "  asked  the  clerk. 

"  It 's  more  than  I  can  tell  you,"  said  Marland.  "  But  if 
something  is  n't  in  the  wind,  then  I  'm  no  judge,  that  's 
all." 


THE  VETEKAN   OF  THE   GRAND   AKMY.  57 

At  this  moment  the  objects  of  their  scrutiny  stopped,  and 
then  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  hag,  which  was  raised  on 
a  louder  key  than  heretofore,  expostulating  with  her  vic 
tims,  and  assuring  them  that  they  were  near  the  house  they 
sought. 

"  Let 's  come  around  on  their  flank,"  whispered  Prescott, 
"  and  find  out  what  all  this  means." 

"  Pshaw  ! "  exclaimed  the  clerk,  in  a  whisper.  "  What 's 
the  use  ?  We  '11  only  get  ourselves  into  a  scrape." 

"  Use  or  no  use,  I  'm  bound  to  see  what  it  all  means." 

"  Leave  that  to  the  police." 

"  Come  now,  Billings  (Marland  thus  addressed  the  clerk), 
there  's  a  young  lady,  who  I  '11  swear,  even  in  this  light, 
is  beautiful ;  and  a  young  fellow  with  her  that  Old  Thor- 
bolt  might  use  for  a  cane,  if  his  backbone  were  stiff  enough ; 
and  if  ever  a  hag  meant  mischief,  I  believe  that  one  does. 
I  'm  in  for  it." 

On  the  utterance  of  these  last  words  Marland  started  off 
to  come  around  on  the  group  by  a  side  street.  The  clerk, 
seeing  there  was  no  help  for  it,  followed. 

Let  us  return  to  the  cousins  and  Mammy  Eoone. 

The  dread,  which  the  former  began  to  experience  before 
reaching  the  spot  in  which  Prescott  Marland  discovered 
them,  now  increased  to  such  a  degree  that  they  halted,  as 
we  have  seen  ;  and  Emma,  casting  on  the  old  woman  a  look 
of  strong  suspicion,  refused  to  go  any  farther  in  the  direc 
tion  she  was  leading  them. 

As  we  have  also  observed,  the  hag  now  pitched  her  voice 
to  a  high  key. 

"  Oche  !  and  is  it  meself  you  suspict,  me  darling  ?  Nay ! 
nay  !  ye  would  n't  be  for  thinking  so  evil  of  poor  Mammy 
Eoone!" 

"I  certainly  do  not  like  the  way  you  are  leading  us 
about,"  returned  Emma,  with  some  severity. 


58        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  It  does  n't  look  right  to  me,  I  must  confess/'  joined  in 
William  Garvin. 

"0  me  honies  !"  cried  the  hag  in  a  plaintive  voice,  "to 
think  that  meself,  with  the  good  name  that  I  've  earned, 
and  labored  hard  to  kape,  should  come  undher  such  a  look 
as  ye  jist  now  cast  upon  me !  Meself,  that 's  hobbled  away 
down  to  the  place  we  're  treading  this  blessed  moment,  to 
be  of  assistance  to  ye !  Arrah,  me  swate  lady,  and  me 
fine  young  gentleman !  ye  '11  never  suspicion  Mammy 
Eoone  more  when  once  ye  Ve  turned  into  yonder  strate ; 
for  now,  bless  the  name  of  Jasus  !  it 's  meself  that  recog 
nizes  the  spot  at  last  that  we  're  seeking." 

As  she  was  uttering  the  last  portion  of  this  characteristic 
speech,  the  old  woman  had  suddenly  taken  a  step,  and 
extended  her  body  forward,  while  her  face  lit  up  with  an 
expression  of  joyful  intelligence. 

"  Come !  come ! "  she  exclaimed,  seizing  Emma  by  the 
sleeve.  "Ye  '11  be  glad  to  see  the  sowldhier's  family  at 
last!" 

The  cousins  now  moved  reluctantly  forward. 

On  their  right  was  a  dark,  lonesome-looking  alley.  As 
they  passed  this  alley  William  Garvin  held  his  breath ;  for 
he  observed  the  dim  forms  of  three  men,  and  he  was  sure 
these  men  were  watching  them. 

Catching  his  cousin  by  the  opposite  sleeve  .to  that  which 
the  old  woman  had  grasped,  he  whispered,  — 

"  Let  us  go  back,  in  Heaven's  name  !  This  old  woman  is 
leading  us  —  " 

He  was  interrupted  by  a  movement  of  Emma,  who,  on 
turning  as  he  began  whispering  to  her,  started  back,  and 
uttered  a  slight  cry. 

William  followed  the  direction  of  her  frightened  glance, 
and  also  started  back ;  for  he  now  beheld  the  three  dim 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  59 

forms  issuing  from  the  alley,  and  approaching  them  with 
a  sinister  air  of  mischief. 

The  old  woman  did  not  appear  at  first  to  observe  them. 
When  Emma  started  back  and  uttered  the  cry,  she  broke 
forth  with,  — 

"  Arrah,  me  darlint !  but  your  nerves  are  not  sthrong.  In- 
dade  it  is  that  as  old  as  is  Mammy  Eoone,  she 's  not  to  be 
frightened  by  the  d^rk  looks  of  the  strate  —  " 

Her  eyes  now  fell  on  the  three 'figures  that  were  ap 
proaching.  Stretching  her  head  forward,  she  placed  her 
hand  above  her  eyes,  and  peered  through  the  dusk  upon 
them. 

"  Me  sight  is  dim,"  she  uttered  in  a  hoarse  whisper,  "  but 
I  like  not  the  looks  of  thim  that 's  coming  this  way." 

Then,  suddenly  retreating,  she  gave  vent  to  a  suppressed 
shriek,  and  with  the  cry,  "  The  Holy  One  be  wid  us  ! " 
she  hobbled  off,  moaning  and  ejaculating  in  the  most  dismal 
tones  of  fear  and  alarm. 

As  for  Emma,  she  stood  trembling,  not  knowing  which 
way  to  move ;  while  William  Garvin,  who  might  have 
hastened  away  under  other  circumstances,  now  placed 
himself  between  his  cousin  and  the  three  sinister-looking 
men,  whose  intentions  could  not  be  mistaken. 

As  the  slight  form  of  this  devoted  lover  stands  erect  and 
defiant,  the  spirit  inspired  with  a  courage  which  knows 
nothing  but  that  the  beloved  object  is  in  danger,  one  in 
stinctively  longs  to  see  it  expand  into  the  proportions  of 
a  giant  that  shall  be  commensurate  to  this  courage. 

As  it  is,  however,  a  laugh  issues  from  one' of  the  three, 
ruffians,  and  he  exclaims,  — 

"  Stand  where  you  are  a  minnit,  my  fine  chick,  an'  I  '11 
pen  a  description  of  ye  for  the  newspapers." 

The  other  ruffians  responded  to  this  speech  with  a  hoarse 
laugh. 


60        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

William  Garvin's  face  changed  from  pale  to  red,  and 
then  grew  pale  again.  He  was  in  a  desperate  situation. 
The  scoundrels  whom  he  confronted  were  evidently  accus 
tomed  to  rough  business.  The  one  who  addressed  him 
was  a  burly,  powerful  fellow,  who  seemed  strong  enough 
to  break  his  delicate  form  across  his  knee ;  while  his  com 
panions,  though  not  his  equals  in  strength,  had  an  aspect 
quite  as  ferocious ;  and  either  seemed  strong  enough  to 
fling  this  delicate,  yet  devoted  protector  with  a  single  hand 
from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other. 

When  within  a  pace  or  two  of  the  cousins  these  three 
ruffians  stopped  for  a  moment,  and  contemplated  them 
with  a  leer. 

"  Now,  my  Hercules,  what  'a  the  use  of  making  a  dis 
turbance  in  this  'ere  peaceable  neighborhood  ? " 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! "  hoarsely  again  responded  the  other 
two. 

"  We  're  peaceable  citizens,  we  are  ;  and  seein'  this  'ere 
female  being  carried  off  by  such  a  ruffian  as  you  be,  an' 
no  mistake  (another  hoarse  laugh),  we  're  bound  to  do  our 
duty,  an'  rescue  the  same." 

With  these  words  he  advanced. 

JEmma  had  now  recovered  herself,  and  her  native  spirit 
came  to  her  aid. 

Stepping  forward,  she  confronted  this  leading  ruffian 
with  a  look  such  as  compelled  him  to  halt  in  his  tracks. 

"  Villain  ! "  she  exclaimed,  "  leave  us  and  go  your  way  ! " 

There  was  silence  for  a  moment. 

Then  one  of  the  rear  scoundrels  cried  out,  — 

"  0  blinkers  !  ain't  she  a  pictur,  though  ! " 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha !  Dick  's  afeared  of  her ! "  responded  the 
other.  "  I  say,  On  to  the  rescue  !  save  her  from  the  young 
reprobate ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        61 

With  this  the  last  speaker  pushed  forward,  and  grasped 
Emma  by  the  arm. 

William,  who  up  to  this  moment  could  not  entirely 
realize  that  any  living  man,  however  degraded,  would  dare 
profane  the  object  of  his  adoration  with  the  hand  of  vio 
lence,  was  by  this  act  wrought  to  the  pitch  of  frenzy.  With 
a  loud  cry  he  sprang  upon  the  wretch  who  had  grasped  his 
cousin. 

The  attack  was  so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  the 
object  of  it  fell  back  in  momentary  confusion.  But  the 
leader,  whom  they  called  Dick,  catching  the  frenzied  as 
sailant  in  his  powerful  arms,  threw  him  violently  upon  the 
ground,  where  he  lay  stunned  and  immovable ;  then  crying 
out,  "  No  more  tomfoolery !  let  us  be  off ! "  he  seized  Emma 
around  the  waist. 

Emma  uttered  a  shriek  that  penetrated  far  into  the  ap 
proaching  night. 

Prescott  Marland  and  the  clerk  were  just  entering  the 
street  below  when  they  heard  this  shriek. 

They  hastened  forward  and  beheld  Emma  struggling  in 
the  arms  of  the  leading  ruffian,  while  the  others  were 
making  an  effort  .to  gag  her. 

"  By  Heavens  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott, "  we  are  just  in  time 
for  that  crowd ! "  and  he  bounded  up  the  street. 

The  clerk  was  for  a  moment  staggered ;  but  though  his 
former  fancies  had  been  generated  by  the  gloom  through  a 
nervous  organization,  and  in  an  imaginative  mind,  yet  now 
that  the  reality  was  before  him,  his  naturally  courageous 
nature  quickly  prepared  itself  to  meet  the  conflict.  Closing 
his  lips,  and  clenching  his  hands,  he  followed  his  companion 
with  nerves  drawn  taut  like  so  many  springs. 

As  he  sped  on  his  way  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  an  old 
woman,  whom  he  judged  to  be  the  one  he  had  seen  with 


62      .   THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

the  cousins,  peering  around  the  opposite  corner  upon  the 
struggling  group. 

"  By  Jove ! "  exclaimed  the  clerk  to  himself,  as  the  ath 
letic  form  of  Prescott  Marland  went  bounding  on  before 
him;  "if  he  don't  give  'em  a  taste  of  his  gymnastics  then 
I '11  give  in!" 

In  the  mean  time  Marland  rapidly  approached  the  scene 
of  outrage  with  long  leaps;  and  it  seemed  as  if  several 
yards  yet  intervened,  when  with  one  tremendous  bound  he 
planted  a  blow  on  the  side  of  the  head  of  the  ruffian  Dick 
that  caused  him  to  drop  his  intended  victim,  and  stagger 
half  stunned  against  a  doorway,  near  which  the  struggle  was 
taking  place.  Then,  drawing  Emma  back,  he  extended  his 
clenched  hand  which  had  just  struck  so  powerful  a  blow, 
and  cried  out,  — 

"  Scoundrels !  take  yourselves  off,  or  I  '11  teach  you  a 
lesson  that  '11  make  you  behave  yourselves  in  future  ! " 

With  a  curse  the  stricken  ruffian,  who  had  now  recovered 
himself,  sprang  forward,  and,  foaming  with  rage,  yelled  in 
a  hoarse  voice,  — 

"Who  dares  strike  Dick  Smasher?  D— n  him!  I  '11 
see  to  his  life  insurance  ! " 

With  this  he  aimed  a  fearful  blow  at  the  head  of  the 
young  athlete. 

But  though  encumbered  as  he  was  by  Emma,  whom  he 
supported  on  his  left  arm,  Prescott  skilfully  caught  this 
blow,  and  at  the  same  time,  by  a  dexterous  stroke  of  his 
foot,  sent  his  burly  but  too  impetuous  assailant  sprawling 
on  the  ground. 

The  other  two  ruffians,  who  had  shrunk  back  from  Pres- 
cott's  first  onset,  now,  from  both  shame  and  rage,  made  a 
rush  towards  him. 

But  the  clerk  had  now  arrived.    As  we  have  said,  his 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        63 

nerves,  as  he  followed  his  companion,  were  toughened  like 
so  many  springs.  When,  therefore,  he  reached  the  scene 
of  conflict,  just  as  these  two  scoundrels  were  about  attack 
ing  Prescott,  his  body  was  launched  upon  one  of  them  as  if 
shot  from  an  engine,  and  in  the  next  instant  the  fellow 
was  staggering  to  and  fro  with  the  clerk's  hand  tightly 
clasped  about  his  windpipe.  * 

The  third  ruffian  succeeded  in  planting  a  blow  on  Mar- 
land's  cheek,  and,  having  a  ring  on  his  finger,  he  brought 
blood.  Then,  standing  back,  he  drew  a  knife. 

Stung  by  this  cut,  and  perceiving  that  the  moment  had 
come  for  the  use  of  all  his  resources,  Prescott  relaxed  his 
hold  of  Emma,  and,  throwing  all  his  power  into  his  left  arm, 
he  delivered  such  a  return  under  the  ear  of  his  new  assail 
ant  that  he  was  knocked  clean  from  his  feet,  and  fell  far  back 
ward  across  the  body  of  William  Garvin/as  insensible  as 
he  on  whom  he  had  fallen,  while  his  knife,  which  he  had 
had  no  time  to  use,  rattled  upon  the  opposite  sidewalk. 

As  he  now  turned  on  the  again-recovered  Dick  Smasher, — 
as  this  herculean  shoulder-hitter  grimly  called  himself,  — 
the  staggering  ruffian,  whose  windpipe  was  compressed  under 
the  tightening  fingers  of  the  brave  and  nervous  clerk,  fell 
gasping  beneath  his  assailant,  who  still  continued  to  tighten 
his  grasp.  . 

On  seeing  his  two  accomplices  down,  the  leader  backed 
a  few  paces,  and  looked  anxiously  around. 

"  Curse  it ! "  he  muttered.  "  This  fellow 's  seen  the  ele 
phant,  and  no  mistake.  Hang  me  if  I  would  n't  like  the 
Doctor's  lancet ! " 

On  the  utterance  of  this  sanguinary  wish,  he  glanced  at 
the  insensible  form  of  the  man  whom  Prescott's  left  arm 
had  just  laid  out,  and  whose  soubriquet  was  evidently  "  The 
Doctor." 


64        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

But  in  the  next  moment  he  seemed  ashamed  of  his  cow 
ardly  wish  ;  for,  with  a  sound  half-way  between  &  pshaw  and 
a  hiss,  he  advanced  to  meet  Marland's  attack. 

The  latter  delivered  a  tremendous  blow;  but, the  object 
of  it  had  been  taught  by  his  former  experience  that,  if  he 
had  any  pugilistic  skill,  he  must  use  it.  Making  his  best 
effort,  therefore,  he  succeeded  in  partially  parrying  the 
attack,  and  at  the  same  time  attempted  a  counter.  This 
fell  with  some  effect  on  his  opponent ;  but,  in  return,  he 
received  a  stroke  that  sent  him  once  more  staggering  back 
in  confusion. 

At  the  same  moment,  the  ruffian,  under  the  unrelaxing 
clutch  of  the  clerk,  sank  into  insensibility. 


CHAPTEE    IX. 

EMMA  had  witnessed  the  scene  —  which  had  been  en 
acted  quicker  than  I  have  been  able  to  write  it  —  in  a 
sort  of  stupor.  The  appearance  of  the  ruffians,  the  cruel  treat 
ment  of  her  devoted  cousin,  the  seizure  of  herself,  the  ar 
rival  of  Prescott  Marland  and  the  clerk,  and  the  subsequent 
struggle,  —  all  had  rushed  into  these  few  moments  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  stupefy  her  without  causing  her  to  faint.  But 
now,  as  she  beheld  the  huge  form  of  Dick  Smasher  again 
fall  back  before  the  power  of  Prescott's  arm,  and  then  saw 
the  clerk  rise  from  the  immovable  ruffian  whom  he  had 
throttled,  she  experienced  a  reaction,  and  clasped  her  hands 
with  an  emotion  of  hopeful  gratitude ;  and  as  Prescott  ad 
vanced  to  follow  up  his  last  blow,  she  instinctively  started 
forward  also,  as  if  she  would  lend  to  her  preserver  the  as 
sistance  of  her  own  brave  spirit. 


T*HE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  65 

At  this  instant  she  heard  a  yell,  and  on  looking  down 
the  street  she  beheld  two  more  burly  figures  rapidly  ap 
proaching  the  spot.  She  started  back,  and  for  the  first  time 
gave  utterance  to  a  moan. 

"  Oh,  will  not  help  come  ? "  she  murmured. 

At  the  same  moment  a  hooded  old  head  was  quickly 
thrust  beyond  the  corner  whence  these  men  had  issued, 
followed  by  a  shrivelled  clenched  hand,  from  which  fell 
back  the  tattered  fringe  of  an  old  plaid  shawl.  They  re 
mained  only  for  an  instant,  and  then  were  as  quickly  with 
drawn; 

When  Prescott  discovered  the  approach  of  these  lawless 
reinforcements,  his  attention  was  diverted.  Dick  Smasher 
took  advantage  of  this  diversion,  and,  rushing  in,  he  seized 
him  in  his  powerful  arms,  at  the  same  time  crying  to  one 
of  the  fresh  confederates,  — 

"  Take  the  girl,  and  cheese  it ! " 

The  other  ruffian  in  the  mean  time  had  drawn  a  pistol, 
and,  levelling  it  on  the  clerk,  pulled  the  trigger. 

It  missed  fire,  and  with  a  curse  he  hurled  it  at  the  clerk's 
head,  who  was  just  in  time  to  dodge  it,  and  then  prepared 
to  close  on  him. 

But  the  clerk  was  not  prepared  to  meet  him  by  force, 
for  his  encounter  with  his  throttled  victim  had  left  his 
nerves  somewhat  unstrung  by  the  reaction;  so,  step 
ping  back  and  thrusting  his  hand  into  his  bosom,  he  ex 
claimed,  — 

"Beware!" 

The  ruffian,  who  was  a  coward,  feared  a  deadly  weapon 
and  held  back. 

While  this  was  going  on,  a  fierce  struggle  was  taking 
place  between  Dick  Smasher  and  Prescott  Marland. 

The  villain,  whom  the  leader  had  ordered  to  seize  Emma, 


66         THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMlf. 

had  hastened  to  obey,  and  clasped  this  beautiful  girl  in  his 
brutal  arms. 

She  now  gave  vent  to  loud  shrieks,  and  struggled  des 
perately.  But  the  ruffian  held  her  in  a  strong  grasp,  and 
bore  her  rapidly  down  the  street,  using  his  best  efforts  to 
smother  her  cries. 

As  Emma's  first  shriek  pierced  the  air,  William  Garvin 
stirred,  as  if  this  shriek  from  his  cousin  penetrated  ears 
insensible  to  all  other  sounds.  Then,  as  cry  succeeded  cry, 
his  eyes  opened,  and  he.  raised  his  head  and  the  upper 
portion  of  his  body,  and,  sustaining  himself  feebly  by  his 
elbow,  he  looked  around. 

.The  first  thing  that  met  his  gaze  was  the  prostrate  form 
of  the  ruffian,  who  had  been  knocked  insensible  by  Marland, 
lying  across  his  own  body.  Then  he  saw  the  forms  of  Pres- 
cott  and  Dick  Smasher  still  engaged  in  a  fierce  struggle. 
But  his  eyes  passed  quickly  to  the  receding  figure  of  the 
ruffian,  who  bore  his  cousin  in  his  foul  grasp. 

As  he  beheld  the  one  whom  he  so  much  adored  thus 
being  dragged  away  to  a  terrible  fate,  his  orbs  threatened 
to  tear  themselves  from  their  sockets,  his  countenance  as 
sumed  an  aspect  of  ghastly  horror,  and  he  gave  vent  to  a 
loud  groan. 

"  0  God !  0  God ! "  was  all  that  burst  from  his  lips. 
His  soul  was  overwhelmed. 

But  even  that  short,  ejaculatory  prayer  from  a  soul  so 
crushed  seemed  to  have  been  heard;  for  scarcely  had  it 
passed  his  lips  when  he  saw  a  tall,  gigantic  form,  which 
seemed  to  his  distorted  vision  to  loom  nearly  to  the  house 
tops,  enter  the  street  just  below  the  spot  where,  for  a  mo 
ment,  the  ruffian  was  compelled  to  halt  by  the  struggles  of 
his  beautiful  victim. 

He  beheld  in  the  dim  light  this  form  advance  upon  the 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  67 

ruffian  with  fearful  strides,  and,  seizing  him  by  the  arms, 
unclasp  his  hold  of  his  cousin,  and,  lifting  him  in  the  air, 
hurl  him  sheer  beyond  the  corner  whence  appeared  the 
head  and  hand  of  the  hooded  hag. 

This  was  followed  by  a  hoarse  shriek  of  alarm,  which 
seemed  to  issue  from  an  aged  female  voice,  and  then  all 
was  silent. 

William  now,  with  unutterable  emotions  of  joy,  saw  his 
beloved  cousin  taken  under  the  protection  of  her  titanic 
deliverer. 

This  man  of  such  terrible  strength,  who  had  arrived  at 
a  moment  so  opportune,  is  recognized  by  the  reader  as  the 
stranger  who  had  been  sent  this  way  by  the  little  woman 
with  the  pitted  face. 

Having  taken  Emma  under  his  protection,  he  advanced 
toward  the  scene  of  a  still  fierce  struggle  between  Prescott 
and  Smasher.  ^ 

"  I  beg  you  to  leave  me,"  William  now  heard  his  cousin 
exclaim,  "and  hasten  to  aid  that  brave  young  man,  who 
needs  you  so  much  ! " 

Even  in  the  midst  of  this  fearful  scene,  poor  William 
experienced  the  pangs  of  an  indefinable  jealousy. 

The  stranger,  seeing  that  Emma  was  for  the  present  safe, 
advanced  with  a  long,  quick  stride,  and,  laying  hold  of 
Dick  Smasher  with  his  right  hand,  he  tore  him  from  Mar- 
land  as  a  man  would  tear  a  weed  from  the  ground,  and, 
shaking  him  violently,  exclaimed,  — 

"  Scoundrel !     What  means  this  outrage  ? " 

He  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  upon  the  scene  of  a 
policeman,  who  had  been  attracted  to  the  spot  by  Emma's 
shrieks. 

The  ruffian,  whom  the  clerk  had  so  cunningly  kept  at 
bay,  now  cleared  the  spot  at  a  bound,  and  sped  away  at  a 
rapid  pace. 


68  T21E  VETERAN"  OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

His  leader,  with  a  curse,  took  advantage  of  a  moment's 
relaxation  in  the  hold  of  the  stranger,  who  turned  toward 
Emma  as  the  confederate  fled  past  her,  and  with  a  desper 
ate  effort  tore  himself  free,  and  followed  this  confederate, 
evidently  the  worse  for  the  severe  handling  he  had  received 
from  the  athletic  Marland. 

With  the  departure  of  his  cowardly  assailant,  the  clerk 
now  had  time  to  look  at  the  colossal  stranger,  who  had  so 
opportunely  come  to  the  rescue. 

"  By  Jove ! "  he  exclaimed  to  himself,  as  his  first  glance 
ran  up  and  down  the  majestic  figure  before  him ;  "  there 's 
power  enough  for  a  score  of  these  fellows  ! " 

His  eye  now  fell  on  the  scar,  and  his  voice  became  audi 
ble  as  he  again  exclaimed,  — 

"  Old  Thorbolt  —  or  the  -    - ! " 

He  was  interrupted  by  Prescott.  In  his  excitement 
this  spirited  champion  had  not  entirely  withdrawn  his  eye 
from  his  late  antagonist ;  but  as  his  ears  were  greeted 
by  the  audible  voice  of  the  clerk,  he  turned  his  gaze  on 
the  stranger.  Starting  forward,  he  caught  his  hand,  and 
cried,  — 

"  By  heavens  !  General  Hammond  ! " 

"  What !   Marland  ! "  responded  the  stranger. 

"Yes,  Prescott  Marland,  and  no  one  else,  General. — 
Well,  this  is  a  meeting  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott,  in  a  tone  of 
delighted  astonishment. 

They  were  here  interrupted  by  the  patrolman. 

"  What 's  the  trouble  ? "  he  asked. 

"  This  young  lady,  with  that  young  gentleman,  was  led 
here  by  a  miserable  hag,  and  then  attacked  by  these  scoun 
drels,"  answered  I^rescott. 

The  patrolman  gave  a  signal  for  aid,  and  then  turned 
his  attention  to  the  two  ruffians  who  had  been  lying  in- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        69 

sensible.  William  Garvin  had  revived  sufficiently  to 
work  himself  clear  of  the  one  that  lay  across  him,  who 
"by  his  movements  had  been  stirred  into  signs  of  returning 
life. 

Emma  and  William  were  preparing  to  express  their 
gratitude  for  the  timely  succor  which  had  preserved  the 
former  from  the  terrible  snare  that  the  old  hag  had  laid 
for  her,  when  the  recognition  took  place  between  General 
Hammond,  or  "Thorbolt"  (we  will  also  call  him  the 
Veteran),  and  Prescott  Marland,  as  we  have  described. 

Their  attention  had  been  chiefly  drawn  to  the  stranger, 
whose  majestic  presence,  combined  with  the  marvellous 
display  of  power  which  had  appeared  in  his  treatment  of 
strong  and  desperate  ruffians,  served  to  inspire  in  their 
breasts  a  sentiment  in.  which  awe  mingled  with  gratitude. 
But  when  the  name  of  Prescott  Marland  was  uttered,  the 
eyes  of  both  were  turned  upon  him. 

The  emotions  of  these  two  cousins  at  this  moment  it 
would  be  difficult  to  analyze. 

Emma's-  instincts  at  once  told  her  that  the  object  of  her 
father's  friendship  and  praise  and  this  handsome  young 
man  of  heroic  strength  and  courage  could  be  none  other 
than  one  and  the  same  person.  The  ideal  which  had 
gradually  and  almost  unconsciously  formed  itself  in  her 
bosom  and  the  real  that  now  stood  before  her  were  one 
also.  A  secret  delight  took  possession  of  her  heart,  and  a 
crimson  blush  suffused  her  rounded  cheek. 

Her  cousin's  emotions  were  more  conflicting. 

Though  insensible  during  Prescott's  heroic  display,  he 
apprehended  the  truth ;  and  that  gratitude  he  was  on  the 
point  of  expressing  was  at  once  disturbed  by  a  pang 
which  only  such  a  soul,  for  so  many  years  absorbed  in  the 
adoration  of  the  object  of  its  love,  could  experience. 


70        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

He,  poor  fellow,  when  lie  would  have  protected  her,  had 
been  thrown  to  the  earth  like  a  child.  But  this  young 
man  had  saved  her.  Humiliation,  therefore,  mingled  with 
this  pang.' 

Emma  was  the  first  to  recover  herself,  and,  without  wait 
ing  for  formalities,  she  advanced  and  expressed  her  thanks 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  thrill  the  heart  of  her  young  pre 
server  with  pleasure. 

William,  whose  fate  it  seemed  to  be  to  experience 
jealous  emotions  on  the  utterance  of  Prescott  Marland's 
name,  on  occasions  when,  to  his  sensitive  and  morbid  con 
science,  such  emotions  were  not  less  than  criminal,  now, 
internally,  accusing  himself,  approached  the  group,  and 
joined  his  expressions  with  those  of  his  cousin.  After 
warm  words  of  gratitude,  he  said,  turning  to  Prescott,  — 

"  Did  I  not  understand  you  to  say  your  name  was  Pres 
cott  Marland." 

"You  did." 

Emma  again  blushed.  Her  heart  beat  quickly,  for  she 
perceived  that  her  cousin  was  doing  what  she  herself 
would  like  to  have  done,  but  could  not. 

"Were  you  acquainted  with  an  officer  in  the  army 
named  Allen  Paige  ? " 

Prescott's  fine  countenance  lit  up  with  pleasing  memory. 

"  I  knew  him  well.  We  were  in  the  same  hospital,  and 
we  came  to  own  everything  that  was  sent  us  in  common. 
Yes,  I  knew  him  well,  and  learned  to  love  him,  too,"  he 
added  with  feeling. 

Emma's  countenance  flushed  with  pleasure;  then  the 
blood  receded  somewhat  from  her  cheeks,  and  her  eyes 
became  suffused  with  tears. 

Prescott  observed  her  emotion.  With  an  impulse  he 
took  her  hand,  and  exclaimed, — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  71 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  this  is  his  daughter,  of  whom 
he  so  loved  to  speak  ? " 

"  It  is  his  daughter  Emma/'  interposed  William. 

As  Prescott  looked  into  her  beautiful  yet  tearful  eyes, 
with  an  ardor  borrowed  from  his  remembrance  of  one  whom 
he  had  held  in  such  deep  regard,  he  suddenly  experienced 
a  thrill  which  caused  'him  to  drop  the  hand  he  had  taken, 
while  he  felt  the  blood  mantling  either  cheek. 

William,  whose  whole  soul  was  poured  into  his  eyes,  re 
ceived  the  impression  of  this  scene,  even  in  that  dim  light, 
as  the  sensitive  plate  of  the  photographer  receives  the  im 
pressions  of  nature. 

As  Emma  was  the  first  to  recover  herself  when  both  she 
and  William  were  thrown  into  confusion  by  the  utterance  of 
Prescott  Marland's  name,  so  now  she  first  regained  sufficient 
self-control  to  break  the  spell  which  had  been  so  subtly 
and  unexpectedly  cast  upon  them. 

She  turned  to  the  Veteran. 

Prescott  understood  her.  He  inwardly  rebuked  himself 
—  for  what  he  scarcely  knew.  At  the  instant  he  seized  her 
hand  her  tears  had  told  him  that  the  fearful  wound  Colonel 
Paige  had  received  in  the  same  series  of  battles  in  which 
he  had  received  his  own  last  wound  (for  he  had  been 
wounded  more  than  once)  had  proved  fatal;  and  yet,  in 
the  place  of  the  consolation  it  was  on  his  lips  to  utter,  he 
realized  that  he  had  been  overcome  by  an  emotion  which 
his  conscience  pronounced  selfish. 

He  did  not  then  know  that  the  tender  emotions  and 
sympathies  of  grief  oftentimes  act  as  the  swiftest  conduc 
tors  for  the  subtle  magnetism  of  love. 

"  General,"  he  said,  while  he  still  felt  the  blood  tingling 
his  cheeks,  "  this  is,  as  you  have  just  now  heard,  the  daugh 
ter  of  my  friend,  Colonel  Paige." 


72  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  Veteran  took  her  hand,4  and  gazed  down  upon  her 
with  a  grave  and  benignant  air. 

"  Miss  Paige,"  he  said,  "  aside  from  the  satisfaction  it 
gives  me  to  see  you  relieved  from  these  lawless  men,  it  is 
tenfold  gratifying  to  know  that  we  have  rendered  a  service 
to  the  child  of  a  patriot  and  a  comrade,  —  especially  the 
child  of  one  whose  patriotic  devotion  has  left  her  an  or 
phan." 

The  reader  has  undoubtedly  recognized  in  the  Veteran 
the  stranger  who  so  silently  entered  and  departed  from  the 
chamber  of  the  heaven-crowned  patriot. 

The  manner  of  this  man,  who  had  so  recently  displayed 
such  marvellous  power,  together  with  his  words  which  he 
uttered  with  profound  feeling,  brought  the  tears  again  to 
Emma's  eyes. 

A  second  patrolman  appeared  now  in  response  to  the 
signal  of  the  first;  and  the  Veteran,  offering  his  arm  to 
Emma,  led  the  way  from  the  street,  followed  by  Prescott, 
William,  and  the  clerk. 


CHAPTEK    X. 

AS  they  left  the  recent  scene  of  lawless  violence,  the 
rescuers  and  rescued  became  more  thoroughly  intro 
duced  to  each  other. 

"Billings,"  said  Marland,  with  a  half-laugh,  "I  didn't 
expect  that  you  would  so  soon  have  visual  evidence  of  the 
truth  of  what  I  was  telling  you  a  little  while  ago." 
The  clerk  looked  at  the  Veteran. 
"  No,"  he  said ;  and  then  he  muttered  to  himself,  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  73 

"  Thorbolt,  —  Thorbolt,  — 7  a  very  appropriate  name,  I  'm 
sure.  He  made  them  bolt,  anyhow." 

This,  however,  was  not  muttered  so  low  as  to  escape  the 
quick  ear  and  apprehension  of  the  Veteran,  who  glanced 
upon  Prescott  with  a  smile. 

"  Still  at  it,  I  see,"  he  said. 

"Well,  who  knows,"  returned  Prescott,.  "if  I  had  not 
chanced  to  have  been  romancing  to  my  companion  here, 
I  might  not  have  seen  Miss  Paige  and  her  cousin  as  I  did." 

He  then  related  how  he  had  seen  them  in  company  with 
the  old  woman,  of  his  immediate  suspicions  and  consequent 
action  in  conjunction  with  the  clerk. 

"  Who  wras  this  old  woman  ? "  asked  the  Veteran.  "  It 
must  have  been  her  scream  I  heard  when  I  threw  the  fel 
low  whom  I  first  took  hold  of." 

"  She  called  herself  Margaret  Eoone,"  answered  Emma. 

"And  Mammy  Eoone,"  interposed  William  Garvin, 
"  which  I  think  much  more  appropriate." 

The  young  lover  was  gratified  by  the  glance  of  approval 
from  the  Veteran,  on  whose  arm  he  beheld  his  cousin  rest 
with  sentiments  of  pride. 

Emma  now  proceeded  to  give  an  account  of  their  adven 
tures  up  to  the  moment  that  Dick  Smasher  and  his  confed 
erates  attempted  to  carry  out  Mammy  Koone's  diabolical  plot. 

"  Oh! "  she  exclaimed,  as  she  finished, "  what  will  become 
of  the  poor  family  whom  I  have  sought  so  long  in  vain  ? " 
and  this  noble  girl  seemed  at  once  to  forget  all  the  perils 
and  violence  through  which  she  had  just  passed,  as  the  pic 
ture  of  the  destitute  family  of  whom  she  had  been  speaking 
came  before  her  mind. 

"  General,"  said  Prescott  Marland,  gravely,  "  of  all  places 
New  York  is  the  one  for  an  organization  which  has  been 
recently  formed  in  the  West." 

4 


74  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  Veteran  gave  Prescott  a  significant  look.  Then,  ex 
cusing  himself  a  moment,  he  relinquished  Emma's  arm,  and 
taking  his  friend  aside,  he  conversed  with  him  in  a  low 
voice. 

Then,  returning,  he  again  took  Emma's  arm,  and  said :  — 

"  It  gratifies  me  to  know  that  not  only  is  Mr.  Marland  a 
comrade,  as  one  of  the  army  who  fought  for  freedom,  but 
he  is  also  a  comrade  in  an  association,  to  which,  of  all  the 
million  soldiers  who  have  returned  from  the  battle-ground 
of  the  Eebellion,  there  is  not  one  of  good  standing  who 
should  not  unite  himself." 

".Ay  !  his  duty  to  his  country  and  to  his  brother  soldier 
is  not  entirely  fulfilled  until  he  does  ! "  responded  Prescott. 

"  What  is  the  name  of  this  association  ? "  asked  the 
clerk.  . 

"THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  KEPUBLIC." 

"  What ! "  exclaimed  Emma,  moved  by  the  impressive 
tone  with  which  the  Veteran  uttered  this  name,  "  is  it  pos 
sible  that  a  political  organization  can  excite  such  senti 
ments  ? " 

"  The  Veteran  and  Prescott  exchanged  glances. 

"  A  political  organization  ? "  repeated  the  former. 

"  Yes,"  continued  Emma,  "  I  heard  a  gentleman  but  a 
few  days  since,  speaking  of  an  organization,  called  The 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  as  a  political  organization." 

Daniel  Garvin  was  this  gentleman. 

The  countenance  of  the  Veteran  grew  stern,  and  his 
eye  for  an  instant  seemed  to  range  over  the  vast  Union. 
Emma  beheld  this  expression,  and  wondered. 

"  Did  the  gentleman  fight  for  the  Union  ? "  he  at  length 
inquired. 

"  He  did  not." 

"  Did  he  aid  the  Union  cause  in  any  way  ? " 


THE  VETERAN   OE  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  75 

"  I  regret  to  say  he  did  not." 

"  Did  he  not  aid  the  foes  of  his  country  ? "  again  asked 
the  Veteran,  looking  down  at  Emma  with  an  expression 
that  caused  her  to  shrink. 

Emma  did  not  answer  for  her  cousin's  sake ;  she  did  not 
wish  to  give  utterance  to  her  suspicions,  and  what  she  had 
heard  others  say,  in  his  presence. 

"I  read  your  answer,  Miss  Paige.  It  is  not  necessary 
for  you  to  speak.  Even  as  during  the  war  the  enemies  of 
our  country  South  and  North .  blasphemed  the  name  of 
Heaven,  and  calumniated  the  name  of  him  whom  we  now 
call  the  Martyred  President,  so  do  they  now  distil  their  poi 
son,  by  which  they  would  hope  to  destroy  an  organization 
upon  which  the  sainted  Lincoln,  if  he  could  now  speak  to 
us,  would  pour  the  blessings  of  his  great  and  loving  heart ! 
Yes,  I  will  prophesy  that,  as  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Ee- 
public  sweeps  over  the  land,  those  who  will  scoff  at  it, 
who  will  denounce  it  as  a  political  organization,  who  will 
use  all  manner  of  means  to  oppose  it,  —  these  men  shall 
be  found  to  have  been  openly  or  secretly  engaged  in  the 
inexpiable  crime  of  this  atrocious  Eebellion  ! " 

The  Veteran  spoke  with  such  vehemence,  and  in  a  man 
ner  so  impressive,  that  his  auditors  did  not  venture  to  break 
the  silence,  when  he  for  a  moment  ceased. 

He  continued :  — 

"  My  dear  young  lady,  I  know  well  I  speak  to  one  who, 
when  this  organization  shall  have  become  established  in 
your  city,  will  be  among  the  foremost  women  to  aid  it  with 
your  work  and  influence.  Women  —  may  the  God  in 
heaven  bless  them !  —  stood  by  the  soldiers  through  the 
war,  and  they  will  stand  by  them  in  their  noble  work,  now 
that  we  are  in  the  midst  of  peace.  If  you  find  this  Grand 
Army  of  the  Kepublic  to  be  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  the 


76        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

widows  and  orphans  of  the  patriot  dead,  and  of  disabled 
soldiers  and  sailors  yet  living,  will  you  not  give  it  your 
countenance  ? " 

"Nothing  would  make  me  happier,"  responded  Emma, 
with  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  I  knew  it,"  uttered  the  Veteran,  while  he  contemplated 
this  noble  girl  with  grave  and  tender  interest.  "  No  other 
answer  could  have  come  from  the  daughter  of  one  who  in 
his  last  moments  inspired  me  with  a  yet  deeper  veneration 
for  those  heroes  who,  as  civilians,  left  all  and  encoun 
tered  the  horrors  of  war  for  the  sake  of  the  Union." 

Emma  looked  up  with  questioning  wonderment,  and 
William  Garvin  was  equally  amazed. 

Said  the  Veteran,  gently  :  — 

"  I  entered  the  chamber  of  your  sainted  father  at  the 
moment  he  was  about  ascending  to  the  arms  of  his  com 
rades  who  had  gone  before  him.  I  simply  came  and  went. 
You  did  not  see  me." 

As  he  uttered  these  last  words  he  remembered  the  for 
bidding  face  of  Daniel  Garvin,  that  alone  had  been  turned 
upon  him  in  that  chamber,  and  a  look  of  severity  crossed 
his  features.  In  the  next  instant  this  face  was  associated 
in  his  mind  with  the  person  who  had  declared  to  Emma 
that  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic  was  a  political  or 
ganization. 

Emma,  on  her  part,  when  she  thus  heard,  for  the  first 
time,  of  the  presence  of  this  remarkable  man  at  the  death 
bed  of  her  father,  experienced  a  profound  emotion,  in  which 
awe  was  indefinably  mingled,  as  if,  in  that  solemn  hour, 
Heaven  had  woven  in  his  future  with  the  future  of  her 
own  faniily. 

The  Veteran  returned  to  the  subject  of  the  Grand 
Army. 


THE  VETEEAN   OF  THE   GRAND   AKMY.  77 

"Your  answer,  I  repeat,  is  worthy  of  that  father.  And 
now  know  that  it  is  the  spirit  of  this  organization  to  seek 
out  the  widow  and  orphans  of  the  soldier,  as  you  have 
sought  them  to-day.  This  is  a  sublime  duty  to  which  it 
binds  itself,  and  to  which  it  will  never  be  found  recreant." 

"  Ah  ! "  exclaimed  Emma,  with  joy.  "  Then  was  my  wish 
granted  before  I  had  uttered  it." 

"  Did  you  wish  for  such  an  association  ? " 

"  It  was  this  very  afternoon  I  uttered  the  wish." 

"  Then  is  it  granted." 

"  And  then  am  I  happy ! "  responded  Emma.  "  And  so 
it  has  nothing  to  do  with  politics,  after  all  ? " 

"Nothing.  To  dabble  in  politics  would  be  simply  sui 
cidal.  There  are  men  'who  believe  we  are  thus  foolish, 
because  they  are  deceived  in  regard  to  our  object;  but, 
in  the  main,  this  report  is  the  invention  of  those  who, 
having  expressed  a  hope  that  every  soldier  who  fought 
for  the  Union  might  find  a  grave  in  the  Southern  swamps, 
now  display  the  same  malignant  spirit  in  their  efforts  to 
injure  the  efficiency  of  organized  effort  to  relieve  the  fami 
lies  whose  husbands  and  fathers  found  that  grave." 

The  clerk,  who  did  not  lack  in  penetration  of  human 
character,  had  listened  to  the  Veteran  with  profound  re 
spect. 

"General,"  he  said,  "I  have  myself  been  prejudiced 
against  this  organization  by  statements  to  the  effect  that 
it  was  controlled  by  political  demagogues  and  the  like ; 
but  you  have  removed  those  prejudices.  To  hear  you  is  to 
believe." 

"  I  thank  you,"  returned  the  Veteran,  with  a  grave  smile. 
"  But  allow  me  to  add,"  he  said,  his  smile  giving  way  to 
an  expression  of  deep  determination,  "  that  there  are  seri 
ous  abuses  in  the  treatment  of  the  men  who  fought  to  put 


78  THE  VETEKAN  OF  THE   GRAND  AEMY. 

down  the  Kebellion,  which  demand  and  will  receive  our 
attention." 

"  General,"  said  the  clerk,  while  a  look  of  apprehension 
crossed  his  features,  "  I  would  like  to  ask  you  one  question, 
if  you  will  permit  me." 

"  Certainly." 

"  Do  you  think  because  a  man  is  a  Democrat  that  he  is 
necessarily  wanting  in  devotion  to  the  soldier,  and  all  that 
appertains  to  the  objects  for  which  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic  was  formed  ? " 

"  By  no  means,  sir.  Some  of  the  most  zealous  members 
of  our  organization  West  are  Democrats.  Some  of  the 
strongest  friends  of  the  soldier  that  I  have  known  are  also 
Democrats.  I  recall  to  mind  a  Democrat  living  in  my 
native  city,  Boston,  who  is  a  great  favorite  of  the  soldiers. 
They  have  no  better  friend.  His  purse  is  open  to  them 
at  all  times.  He  makes  no  display  of  his  charity,  but 
widows  and  orphans  of  our  fallen  comrades  bless  him." 

"  Pray  who  is  this  generous  Democrat  ? "  asked  Emma, 

The  Veteran  gave  utterance  to  a  pleased  laugh 

"  He  might  even  now  hear  me,  and  blush,  if  I  should 
speak  his  whole  name  aloud,  so  I  '11  beg  you  to  rest  sat 
isfied  with  the  familiar  appellation,  used  by  his  friends,  v 
UNCLE  NAT." 

"I  am  gratified  by  your  answer  to  my  question,  Gen 
eral,"  said  the  clerk.  "  To  tell  you  the  truth,  my  own 
father,  whom  I  deeply  respect,  is  a  Democrat,  and  he  also 
is,  and  always  has  been,  a  strong  friend  of  the  soldier.  I 
aske4  you  the  question,  because  you  know  many  think  that 
if  a  man  is  a  Democrat  he  must  necessarily  be  opposed  to 
the  soldier." 

"  Far  from  it.  In  the  workings  of  our  organization  we 
allow  no  invidious  distinctions.  Any  man  who  is  a  true 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        79 

friend  of  the  Constitution  and  the  Union  is  sure  to  be  a 
friend  of  the  soldier,  and  is  so  recognized,  it  matters  not 
by  what  political  creed  he  is  known." 

"  And  how  is  it  with  the  nationalities  ? "  again  asked  the 
clerk. 

.  "  The  same.  No  distinctions  are  for  a  moment  enter 
tained.  All  worthy  soldiers  who  fought  for  the  Union  are 
welcomed  to  our  ranks  as  comrades  and  brothers." 

"What  do  they  think  of  the  Irish  ? " 

The  clerk  uttered  this  with  significant  emphasis. 

"  The  Irish  ? "  returned  the  Veteran,  with  rather  a  stern 
glance  on  the  clerk.  "  I  have  studied  that  nation  with  at 
tention,  and  will  answer  you  in  my  own  way.  This  war 
saw  no  braver  men.  Some  of  the  very  best  of  my  own 
command  were  Irish.  The  true  Irishman  is  a  natural  pa 
triot.  The  Irishman  who  abetted  the  Eebellion  was  false 
to  his  nationality.  In  the  two  women  with  whom  we 
have  had  to  do  this  afternoon  we  have  examples  of  the  two 
classes.  The  old  woman  who  led  Miss  Emma  into  such 
danger  because  she  was  a  soldier's  daughter  represents  a 
falsehood ;  the  little  woman  who  warned  me  of  the 
other's  infamous  plot  represents  the  truth.  The  possibili 
ties  of  a  race  are  seen  in  its  representative  men.  Ireland 
has  furnished  such  men  in  numbers  sufficient  for  a  dozen 
nationalities.  The  Wild  Irishman  is  a  negative  evidence 
of  the  possibilities  of  his  race.  The  greater  the  capacity  for 
wildness  the  greater  the  capacity  for  civilization.  And  it 
would  seem  as  if  the  Almighty  had  reserved  the  Celtic  race 
as  grafting-stock,  with  its  extraordinary  capacity,  for  the 
complete  civilization  of  the  world.  TJie  Irish  stand  among 
the  greatest  men  in  the  history  of  England,  and  to-day 
Irish  blood  runs  in  the  veins  of  some  of  the  most  enlight 
ened  and  progressive  men  of  America.  And  it  is  in  view 


80  *       THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

of  these  things  that  those  who  are  to  influence  the  future 
of  the  Irish  of  this  country  should  realize  their  solemn  re 
sponsibility,  and  see  to  it  that  the  peasantry,  who  compose 
the  great  mass  of  this  foreign  element,  be  educated  to  a 
proper  conception  of  the  genius  of  our  institutions.  It  is 
the  true  Celtic  character  that  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic  respect,  and  would  see  developed  from  one  end 
of  the  Union  to  the  other. 

"  General !  "  exclaimed  Prescott  Marland,  with  earnest 
ness,  "  as  a  member  of  the  Grand  Army,  I  thank  you  for 
those  words.  It  is  the  wish  of  every  man  who  truly  loves 
his  country  to  see  fully  developed  the  innate  national  char 
acter  of  this  vast  element  of  our  population." 

"Very  good!"  responded  the  clerk.  "But,"  he  added, 
with  a  facetious  laugh,  "  how  do  you  account  for  the  Irish 
bulls?" 

"  'T  is  their  mother  wit  in  confusion,"  said  Prescott. 

"Th^eir  swift  imagination,  which  underlies  their  wit, 
trips  their  unschooled  tongue,"  rejoined  the  Veteran. 

The  conversation  was  here  interrupted  by  an  approach 
ing  car,  which  the  cousins  entered,  accompanied  by  the 
Veteran  and  Prescott  Marland,  the  clerk  here  parting  com 
pany  to  return  home  in  another  direction. 

The  Veteran  and  Prescott  parted  with  the  cousins  at 
East  27th  Street ;  the  former  responding  to  a  warm  invita 
tion  to  visit  the  home  of  their  departed  comrade,  Allen 
Paige,  by  promising  to  do  so  at  the  earliest  opportunity, 
at  the  same  time  also  promising  Emma  that  she  should 
hear  more  of  the  Grand  Army  and  its  beneficent  purposes. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        81 


CHAPTER    XI. 

ON  the  third  floor  of  an  old  building  in  the  rear  of  the 
Bowery,  and  but  little  more  than  a  stone's-throw  from 
Cooper  Institute,  Emma  might  have  found  the  objects  of 
her  anxious  search,  had  she  been  properly  directed.  They 
had  been  driven  hither  by  the  raising  of  the  rent  of  their 
former  lodgings,  which,  through  the  machinations  of 
Mammy  Eoone,  was  put  exorbitantly  high  for  a  place 
so  wretched. 

The  walls  of  the  apartment  into  which  the  reader  is  intro 
duced  are  cracked  and  stained,  and  the  rough  worn  floor 
bears  signs  of  equal  hard  usage  and  neglect ;  but  it  is  evi 
dent  that  neatness  and  order  are  doing  their  utmost  to 
relieve  the  room  of  its  unsightly  aspect. 

Yet  this  neatness  and  order  only  serve  to  increase  the 
pity  of  the  beholder;  for  he  realizes  that  the  occupants 
have  seen  better  times,  and  that  this  destitution  is  in 
gloomy  contrast  to  former  comfort. 

Joseph  Deering  had  gone  out  in  the  — — th  New  York; 
and  had  never  returned.  He  fell  in  the  terrible  Peninsular 
campaign.  Though  able  to  comfortably  support  his  family 
by  his  daily  labor,  yet  when  his  faithful  hands  could  no 
more  aid  them,  they  immediately  began  to  experience  the 
pressure  of  want. 

The  condition  of  Mrs.  Deering's  health,  who  had  been 
more  or  less  ill  for  several  years,  enhanced  the  misfortune 
of  her  husband's  death 

Her  family  consisted  of  a  boy,  Joseph,  one  girl  eight 
years  old,  named  Mary,  and  a  little  crippled  one,  a  girl  also, 

4*  F 


82         THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

whose  name  was  Etta,  six  years  old.  This  unfortunate 
little  girl  was  injured  by  a  horse  and  chaise,  which  ran 
over  her  the  year  before. 

Joseph,  who  was  fourteen  years  of  age,  had  managed  to 
do  something  for  the  support  of  the  family ;  but  in  these 
times  of  high  prices  it  seemed  but  a  single  drop. 

It  is  on  the  same  afternoon  the  incidents  narrated  in 
the  preceding  chapters  occurred  that  we  look  in  upon  this 
family  of  the  soldier,  doomed  to  an  incessant  struggle  with 
privation. 

The  mother  is  seated  in  an  old  straight-backed  rocking- 
chair,  an  heirloom  of  her  family,  which  she  can  never  part 
with,  and  contemplates  her  two  little  girls  with  a  sorrow 
she  can  scarcely  control. 

The  picture  which  thus  awakens  her  grief  is  the  sight 
of  Mary  endeavoring  to  soothe  the  little  cripple,  who  is 
suffering  from  hunger. 

"  Joseph  will  bring  you  something,  my  poor  little  sister," 
said  Mary,  with  a  simple  faith  that  sent  a  new  pang  to  her 
mother's  heart. 

At  this  moment  the  door  opened  and  Joseph  came  in. 

Mrs.  Deering  looked  at  him,  but  did  not  speak. 

The  boy  went  up  to  her,  and,  kissing  her  on  the  forehead, 
said, — 

"  I  hsDve  n't  done  as  well  as  I  expected  to,  mother,  but  we 
won't  despair." 

"  No,  no,  my  son,  we  11  not  despair." 

"It  would  be  ungrateful  to  God,  you  know,  dear 
mother." 

"Yes,  ungrateful  to  God." 

"  So,  dear  mother,  we  '11  take  courage." 

As  Joseph  said  this  he  put  his  arm  around  his  mother's 
neck  and  again  kissed  her. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  -83 

She  could  no  longer  contain  herself,  but  gave  vent  to 
her  emotions  in  tears. 

The  boy  remained  silent,  while  the  look  of  a  matured 
man  overspread  his  features. 

At  length  she  grew  calmer,  and  Joseph  said,  — 

"  Mother,  we  ought  to  go  to  Mrs.  Paige." 

Mrs.  Deering  was  silent. 

"  Because,"  continued  Joseph,  "  if  we  trust  truly  in  God, 
we  will  be  reasonable,  and  not  be  proud." 

"  Yes,  Joseph." 

As  the  mother  thus  responded  she  experienced  contend 
ing  emotions.  Pride,  and  the  thought  o£  rumors  that  had 
come  to  her  ears  of  the  lamentable  state  in  which  Mr. 
Paige  had  left  his  affairs,  impelled  her  to  the  one  side, 
and  the  hunger  of  her  little  ones  impelled  her  to  the 
other. 

The  latter  influence  at  length  triumphed,  and  she  said,  — 

"  It  is  well,  my  son." 

As  she  uttered  these  few  words  she  seemed  for  a  mo 
ment  to  forget  her  sorrows  in  the  contemplation  of  her 
devoted  son. 

And  well  may  she  thus  contemplate  this  noble  boy. 
He  is  worthy  to  be  called  the  son  of  the  soldier  who  had 
leaped  to  the  defence  of  the  old  flag  when  it  was  first 
trampled  underfoot  by  Eebels.  He  is  never  in  despair,  but 
in  the  darkest  hours  his  spirit  seems  to  rise  in  a  never- 
failing  trust  in  Heaven. 

We  have  seen  him  just  now  sustaining  his  mother,  and 
uttering  sentiments  that  would  seem  natural  to  one  twice 
his  years.  Thus  it  always  was  with  him,  and  the  other 
children  had  come  to  look  upon  him  as  a  protector. 

This  family  is  but  a  type  of  families  throughout  the 
land,  —  families  of  soldiers  who  died  for  their  country ; 


84  THE  7ETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

and  they  have  been  left  to  struggle  with  want,  enduring 
their  sufferings  in  silence  rather  than  seem  to  come  before 
the  world  as  beggars. 

These  families,  who  had  given  to  the  Union  their  hus 
bands  and  fathers,  were  being  rapidly  buried  in  the  obliv 
ion  of  public  selfishness.  The  promise  made  to  these 
patriots  when  they  left  for  the  war,  that  their  wives  and 
children  should  find  protectors  in  a  preserved  and  grateful 
people,  if  they  should  fall,  was  passing  into  the  dusty 
archives  of  history. 

Then  appeared  a  protecting  arm,  —  the  arm  of  the 
GRAND  ARMY  OF.  THE  EEPUBLIC. 

This  arm  was  formed  by  COMRADES. 

The  civilian,  though  individually  generous  in  heart,  is 
apt  to  forget :  the  soldier,  never. 

The  soldier  reminds  :   the  civilian  responds. 

The  Deerings  had  found  in  the  Paiges  benevolent  friends. 
Mrs.  Deering,  like  many  another  fallen  soldier's  widow, 
had  found  it  hard  to  meet  the  position  into  which  the  death 
of  her  husband  had  thrown  her,  —  the  position  which  de 
manded  that  she  make  known  her  need  and  destitution, 
and  be  compelled  to  come  before  the  world  as  an  object  of 
charity. 

For  they  who  could  justly  command  the  gratitude  of 
the  preserved  republic  were  fast  coming  to  be  treated  as 
if,  unfortunate  victims  of  misalliances,  they  had  been  left 
to  the  mercies  of  a  cold  world  by  the  death  or  desertion 
of  criminal  husbands. 

Thus  it  happened  that  soldiers'  families  starved  all  over 
the  land  for  which  those  soldiers  had  sacrificed  their  lives, 
—  starved  rather  than  yield  to  the  demands  which  they 
felt  to  be  a  violation  of  the  memory  of  their  husbands  and 
fathers. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        85 

But  Allen  Paige's  family  was  a  soldier'l  family,  and  they 
knew  well  how  to  soften  the  edge  of  charitable  giving  by 
throwing  over  it  the  sentiment  of  duty  which  one  comrade 
owed  another. 

Yet  still  this  kindness  Mrs.  Deering  had  felt  should 
not  be  imposed  upon ;  therefore  had  she  often  lived  in 
want,  rather  than  seem  to  presume ;  until  Allen  Paige 
would,  perhaps,  in  the  midst  of  his  own  pain,  turn  to  his 
wife  or  Emma  and  say,  — 

"  I  fear  Mrs.  Deering  may  be  suffering.  Won't  you  send 
down  and  see  ? " 

Alice,  who  loved  to  go  on  these  errands,  usually  went ; 
and  on  her  reporting  the  state  of  the  case,  the  suffering 
family  would  instantly  be  relieved. 

For  some  little  time,  up  to  within  a  few  days  of  the 
opening  of  this  chapter,  Joseph  had  been  in  the  position  of 
errand-boy  in  the  store  of  Mr.  Stanfield,  a  kind  mer 
chant.  He,  however,  had  recently  died,  and  left  his  busi 
ness  in  so  confused  and  dubious  a  condition,  that  several 
employees  had  to  be  discharged,  and  among  these  was 
Joseph.  While  he  held  this  situation  they  managed  to 
get  on  quite  comfortably ;  and  when,  some  two  weeks 
before  Mr.  Paige's  death,  Alice  made  her  last  benevolent 
call,  she  was  assured  by  Mrs.  Deering  that  they  should 
probably  need  no  i^rther  assistance. 

Since  the  death  of  Mr.  Paige  Mrs.  Deering's  reluctance 
to  trouble  them  with  her  wants  had,  from  the  combined 
causes  known  to  the  reader,  increased  to  such  an  extent, 
that  it  is  doubtful  whether  she  would  have  appealed  to 
their  charity  for  herself  before  she  had  experienced  yet  far 
greater  destitution;  but  the  sight  of  her  children  suffer 
ing  from  hunger  caused  her  to  yield  to  the  pleading  of  her 
boy. 


86  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Having,  as  we  have  seen,  prevailed  with  his  mother, 
Joseph  received  her  kiss  and  blessing,  and,  putting  on  his 
cap,  went  out. 

As  soon  as  he  had  departed  Mary  came  up  to  her  mother, 
and  laid  her  head  in  her  lap,  while  the  little  one  looked 
up  and  cried,  — 

"I'm  glad  Joseph  is  going  to  get  something  to  eat. 
I  'm  hungry,  dear  mamma  ! " 

Joseph  hastened  on  his  errand,  each  step  seeming  to 
bring  food  to  the  mouths  of  his  mother  and  little  sis 
ters. 

Mrs.  Paige  received  him  with  great  kindness.  It  was 
more  than  kindness,  for  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  as  she 
contemplated  this  noble  boy,  whom  her  husband  thought 
much  of  on  account  of  his  devotion  to  his  mother. 

She  questioned  him  closely  about  their  situation,  at  the 
same  time  telling  him  of  the  departure  of  Emma  and 
William  to  seek  them. 

Through  all  Joseph's  efforts  to  brighten  the  gloom  of 
their  poverty  she  saw  the  truth ;  and  it  was  then  that  she 
gave  way  to  an  inward  dread,  as  she  thought  of  her  execu 
tors  and  her  late  husband's  estate. 

Her  own  incqnveniences,  the  result  of  Daniel  Garvin's 
schemes,  had  not  sufficed  to  excite  that  dread ;  but  the  con 
templation  of  this  poor  family's  destitution,  who  had  de 
pended  so  much  on  their  benevolence,  for  the  first  time 
aroused  her  mind  to  a  vague  •  conception  of  her  possible 
future. 

She  left  Joseph  alone  in  the  drawing-room  while  she 
repaired  to  the  pantry. 

As  he  sat  in  this  room  he  gazed  around  on  the  walls,  and 
thought  of  the  wealth  which  could  buy  all  these  fine  paint 
ings  and  engravings  ;  and  then  he  looked  at  the  bronze 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        87 

and  marble  groups  which  adorned  the  room,  then  on  the 
carved  furniture,  and  a  sigh  unconsciously  escaped  him. 

"  They  are  all  very  happy,"  he  thought.  "  To  be  sure, 
Mr.  Paige  is  dead ;  but  it  is  n't  like  father's  being 
dead." 

Then  he  thought  of  his  poor  mother  and  little  sisters, 
and  sighed  again. 

It  was  very  still,  with  the  exception  of  the  rumbling  of 
teams  outside;  and  his  imagination,  which  was  naturally 
active,  began  to  picture  the  enjoyments  of  this  wealthy- 
family,  in  whose  drawing-room  he  was  now  sitting. 

"  They  can  buy  whatever  they  want,"  he  ruminated. 
"  They  are  not  cold,  for  they  can  buy  warm  clothes  and  have 
fires." 

Here  he  fixed  his  eyes  on  the  ornamented  register,  which 
was  already  sending  out  the  heat  to  warm  the  chilly  air  of 
late  autumn.  "  Ah,  yes,  they  can  be  very  happy  here  " ;  and 
Joseph  fell  to  musing  on  the  blessing  of  riches. 

He  was  interrupted  by  the  entrance  of  Mrs.  Paige,  with 
a  basket  filled  with  bread,  meat,  crackers,  and  the  like,  in 
one  hand,  and  a  basket  of  fruit  in  the  other. 

Just  then  a  visitor  was  announced,  and  Daniel  Garvin 
was  ushered  in. 

At  sight  of  this  man  Joseph  shrank  back.  He  remem 
bered  his  face  to  be  the  cruel,  forbidding  face  which  was  in 
the  carriage  that  ran  over  his  little  sister  Mary. 

Joseph  remembered  aright.  It  was  the  face  of  the 
broker  that  he  then  saw. 

Garvin's  horse  was  high-spirited  and  given  to  rearing. 
This  little  child  was  playing  in  the  street,  and  the  horse 
coming  upon  her,  Garvin  shouted  to  her  to  get  out  of  the 
way.  She  was  so  intently  engaged  with  her  play  that  she 
neither  saw  nor  heard.  The  horse  reared,  and  then  shied 


88        THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

to  one  side,  but  not  far  enough  to  save  the  child  from  the 
wheels,  which  passed  over  her,  and  made  her  a  cripple  for 
life. 

What  Joseph  remembered  was  the  harsh  and  unfeeling 
expression  of  Garvin's  face,  and  the  way  in  which  he  drove 
on,  without  stopping  to  see  what  harm  he  had  done. 

He  had  never  again  seen  him  until  this  instant ;  and 
now  as  he  looked  at  him  he  shrank  back. 

But  he  also  experienced  the  same  feeling  of  stern  in 
dignation  with  which  he  looked  after  him  on  that  day. 

The  broker  beheld  the  shrinking,  yet  stern  and  indignant 
boy  with  displeasure,  and  a  frown  gathered  on  his  sinister 
brow. 

Mrs.  Paige  saw  this  frown,  but  did  not  divine  its  mean 
ing,  though  she  observed  the  boy's  manner. 

Neither  did  Joseph,  who  had  good  reason  to  see  it. 

The  boy  thought  it  was  because  he,  being  so  ill-dressed, 
was  found  in  this  rich  and  beautiful  drawing-room ;  for  he 
did  not  know  how  he  had  looked  at  the  broker. 

But  Daniel  Garvin  scowled  because  he  had  come  in  to 
see  how  his  schemes  worked,  and  he  had  been  unexpectedly 
met  by  Joseph's  stern,  indignant  gaze,  which  seemed  to 
pierce  his  soul.  % 

"  Who  is  this  boy  ? "  he  said  harshly. 

Mrs.  Paige  turned  toward  the  broker  with  a  look  of  sur 
prise.  Her  face  slightly  flushed,  and  her  form  was  instinc 
tively  erected. 

Her  voice,  however,  was  calm. 

"  He  is  the  son  of  a  soldier  who  was  killed  in  the  war." 

"Ah!" 

Now  this  "  ah ! "  was  short,  but  uttered  as  it  was,  and 
accompanied  by  a  supercilious  glance,  first  at  Joseph,  then 
at  Mrs.  Paige,  and  then  on  the  baskets,  it  possessed  a  deep 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        89 

significance.  Mrs.  Paige  now  assumed  an  air  .which  had 
its  effect;,  for  no  man  could  behave  like  a  boor  in  Mar 
garet  Paige's  presence,  and  not  be  made  to  feel  her  rebuke. 

"Yes,"  he  added  in  a  manner  considerably  modulated, 
and  yet  so  artfully  graduated  that  it  would  seem  to  be  the 
result  of  his  own  thoughts,  —  "yes,  yes,  the  son  of  a  fallen 
soldier.  Well,  yes ;  you  're  a  good  boy,  I  hope  ? " 

Joseph  made  no  answer  to  this  patronizing  question  ;  but 
beginning  to  feel  very  awkward  in  that  fine  room,  with  the 
broker's  sinister  eyes  running  up  and  down  his  patched 
clothing,  he  looked  to  the  floor  and  blushed  painfully. 

Mrs.  Paige  came  to  his  rescue. 

"  Yes,  I  can  speak  for  him,  Mr.  Garvin,  as  being  one  of 
the  best  of  boys." 

Saying  which  she  took  him  kindly  by  the  hand  to  lead 
him  out. 

"  By  no  means,"  exclaimed  the  broker,  on  seeing  her 
movement.  "  I  have  only  dropped  in  for  an  instant,  and 
my  time  is  up." 

He  looked  at  his  watch,  and  with  the  ejaculation,  "  So 
late ! "  he  bowed  himself  out,  evidently  not  desirous  of 
lengthening  his  visit  for  that  time. 

Both  Mrs.  Paige  and  the  boy  breathed  more  freely  when 
this  man  had  freed  them  of  his  ill-boding  presence. 

Joseph  began  to  stammer  out  apologies  for  having  in 
truded  himself. 

"  Do  not  let  your  mind  be  troubled,  my  dear  boy,"  said 
his  benefactress.  "  But  why  did  you  look  at  him  so  when 
he  came  in  ? " 

Joseph  glanced  down  on  his  old  clothes  at  this  question. 

Mrs.  Paige  read  his  thoughts. 

"  You  looked  at  him  as  if  you  had  seen  him  before,"  she 
added. 


90        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"'Never  but  once/'  replied  Joseph,  as  his  face  began  to 
gather  the  same  expression  which  it  assumed  when  the 
broker  came  in. 

Mrs.  Paige  saw  there  was  something  to  be  explained,-  and 
she  drew  from  Joseph  his  story. 

Having  finished  his  story,  so  full  of  significance  to  her 
who  had  already  herself  begun  to  feel  the  malevolence  of 
this  man,  she  gave  him  the  baskets,  and  an  order  on  the 
wood  and  coal  dealer,  and  sent  him  home  to  cheer  those 
who  were  anxiously  awaiting  him. 


CHAPTEK    XII. 

SEVEBAL  weeks  have  passed.  Mrs.  Paige  has  been 
made  to  feel  more  and  more  the  cordon  that  is  being 
drawn  around  her.  For  a  while  after  his  visit,  when  he 
met  Joseph  in  the  drawing-room,  Daniel  Garvin  had 
deemed  it  advisable  to  reassume  his  plausible  and  hypo 
critical  manner ;  but  as  he  watched  the  final  development 
of  his  plans  his  fangs  again  began  to  show  themselves. 

At  length  the  time  arrived  when  she  felt  that  her  mind 
must  fully  prepare  itself  for  whatever  might  happen. 

As  a  first  step  she  determined  to  ascertain,  if  possible, 
the  intentions  of  her  executors.  She  therefore  wrote  to 
Jonas  Cringar. 

This  was  the  note :  — 

JONAS  CRINGAR,  ESQ. 

DEAR  SIR,  —  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  call  and  see  me  this 
evening.  I  confess  to  feeling  much  anxiety  regarding  the  settle 
ment  of  Mr.  Paige's  estate.  Besides  your  own  expressed  fears, 
I  have  heard  many  rumors  of  a  nature  calculated  to  have  long 


THE  VETEEAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  91 

ago  alarmed  me,  if  I  had  not  been  sustained  by  a  very  strong 
confidence  in  the  business  character  of  my  dear  husband.  But 
even  this  confidence  will  not  suffice  to  sustain  me  without  some 
more  definite  statement  of  affairs,,  as  things  now  appear. 

I  write  you  because  I  have  learned  to  esteem  you  as  Allen's 
long-trusted  partner  and  friend,  and  can  consult  with  you  with 
greater  freedom  than  I  can  with  Mr.  Garvin. 

Trusting  you  will  grant  my  request,  I  remain 
Yours,  very  truly, 

ISABEL  PAIGE. 

When  Jonas  Cringar  received  this  note  his  face  was  agi 
tated  by  conflicting  emotions.  He  read  it  over  two  or 
three  times,  as  if  first  his  eyes  read  it,  then  his  mind,  then 
his  conscience. 

Finally  he  crumpled  it  in  his  nervous  fingers,  resting  his 
hand  on  his  knee,  and  gazed  before  him  in  a  sort  of  stupor. 

Presently  he  heaved  a  sigh  and  exclaimed,  — 

"My  God!" 

"Without  saying  more,  he  iook  his  hat  and  went  out,  the 
clerks  gazing  after  him  with  looks  which  said,  — 

"  His  conscience  troubles  him." 

That  evening  Mrs.  Paige  sat  in  the  drawing-room,  anx 
iously  awaiting  the  merchant. 

As  she  sat  there  she  contemplated  the  paintings,  statu 
ary,  and  carved  furniture,  which  had  thrown  Joseph  into 
such  a  deep  revery,  and  sighed. 

In  the  midst  of  this  revery  the  door-bell  rang,  and 
Jonas  Cringar  was  ushered  in. 

As  he  entered  the  door  he  glanced  around  the  room  where 
he  had  spent  so  many  hours  with  his  late  partner,  and  his 
conscience  smote  him  with  such  violence  that  for  a  moment 
he  did  not  move,  and  he  visibly  trembled. 

Mrs.  Paige  observed  his  emotion ;  but  though  she  partly 


92        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

interpreted  it,  she  did  not  dream  of  the  hidden  anguish 
of  this  unhappy  man,  nor  of  the  fearful  struggle  which 
was  incessantly  going  on  within  him. 

She  advanced  to  meet  him. 

"  I  thank  you  for  coming,"  she  said.  "  I  am  now  anxious 
to  hear 'all  that  you  know  or  think  about  the  condition  of 
the  estate." 

The  merchant  continued  to  hold  her  hand  in  his  embar 
rassment,  but  could  not  at  once  find  words  to  answer  her. 
But  at  length  his  tongue  was  loosened  a  little,  and  with  a 
halting  speech  he  said,  — 

"Mrs.  Paige,  I 'really  thank  you  for  reposing  confidence 
in  me.  I  —  really  shall  be  happy  to  tell  you  all  I  know 
or  think." 

Poor  slave  !     It  was  the  last  thing  he  intended  to  do. 

He  being  seated,  Mrs.  Paige  at  once  entered  into  the 
business  for  which  she  had  sent  for  him. 

"  Mr.  Cringar,  there  have  been  many  reports  that  have 
come  to  my  ears,  as  you  well  know,  some  of  them  very  in 
jurious  to  my  departed  husband's  reputation ;  but  these  I 
cannot  afford  to  notice,  only  as  they  affect  the  hearts  and 
feelings  of  those  who  hold  his  memory  dear,  and  who  are 
jealous  of  his  good  name.  It  is  to  you  that  I  must  look 
for  the  information  that  is  to  govern  our  future  actions." 

Cringar,  during  this  speech,  had  been  exerting  himself, 
with  all  the  mental  strength  he  possessed,  to  acquire  the 
firmness  necessary  to  carry  him  through  the  coming  ordeal : 
and  Mrs.  Paige  had  not  been  unobservant  of  the  varying 
expression  of  his  countenance. 

"  My  dear  Mrs.  Paige,"  he  said,  "  you  must  prepare  your 
mind  for  the  worst." 

"  I  have." 

"  I  am  rejoiced  to  hear  it." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        93 


"  You  have  the  worst  to  tell  me  ? " 
' «  Yes." 

Cringar  now  hesitated,  and  looked  from  the  ceiling,  where 
he  had  cast  his  eyes  when  he  had  begun  to  speak,  down  to 
the  floor ;  for  he  was  not  yet  able  to  look  the  intended  vic 
tim  of  his  wickedness  in  the  face. 

"You  will  oblige  me  by  at  once  telling  me  the  whole," 
uttered  Mrs.  Paige,  with  anxious  severity. 

This  compelled  the  merchant  to  turn  his  eyes  upon  her, 
but  they  instantly  turned  off  again. 

"  You  must  give  up  the  idea  of  indulging  in  acts  of  be 
nevolence,  my  dear  madam,  even  to  ward 'soldiers'  families." 

"  Mr.  Cringar,  I  have  not  requested  you  to  come  to  give 
me  such  advice  as  this.  Tell  me  the  truth  as  regards  my 
husband's  business,  and  I  will  judge  what  I  can  give-  to 
others." 

Jonas  Cringar,  now  driven  to  a  corner,  broke  out  with 
desperation,  — 

"  Well,  then  —  all  is  lost  !  " 

Mrs.  Paige  turned  pale,  but  retained  her  composure. 

"All?" 

"  Yes  !  —  all !  —  everything  ! " 

"  It  is  impossible  ! " 

"  Ah,  madam !  I  knew  you  would  say  so  ! "  exclaimed 
the  merchant,  in  a  voice  in  which  sympathetic  distress  and 
remorse  were  strangely  mingled. 

"  And  have  I  not  reason  to  say  so  ? "  asked  this,  wronged 
woman,  who,  though  inwardly  agitated,  fixed  a  penetrating 
gaze  upon  the  guilty  merchant. 

He  quailed  before  this  gaze. 

But  now  he  felt  that  all  his  resources  must  be  brought 
to  bear,  or  he  should  have  to  answer  for  bad  work  to  Dan 
iel  Garvin. 


94        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

That  natural  obliquity  of  character,  which  has  been  inti 
mated  as  belonging  to  him  now  came  into  play  and  gave 
him  what  might  be  called  (if  we  may  be  allowed  a  rather 
uncouth  figure)  a  second  mental  wind. 

Having  thus  gathered  strength,  he  for  the  first  time  was 
able  to  look  his  interlocutor  fairly  in  the  face. 

"  You  certainly  have  reason  to  think  so,  dear  madam ; 
but  Mr.  Garvin  and  myself  can  submit  statements  to  you 
which  will  convince  you  that  all  I  say  is  true." 

"  May  I  ask  what  those  statements  are  ? " 

"  Certainly ;  and  I  will  say  that  they  seem  to  be  sup 
ported  by  the  most  conclusive  evidence." 

"Well" 

"  Some  of  them  are  claims  of  a  most  unexpected  nature ; 
while  others  have  to  do  with  transactions  which,  while  I 
very  deeply  lamented  them  at  the  time,  yet  I  have  kept 
silent  about  them,  hoping  something  would  turn  up  to 
mitigate  their  evils." 

"Well." 

"Well,  then,  Mr.  Paige,  like  too  many  victims  of  the 
fever  which  has  prevailed  in  business  circles  for  the  past 
few  years,  has,  it  seems,  risked  everything  in  speculation, 
and  in  every  instance  very  unfortunately." 

Jonas  Cringar  stopped  a  moment,  but  the  -intended  victim 
of  his  abominable  falsehoods  remained  silent. 

Gathering  strength  by  working  either  knee  in  those 
nervous,  bony  hands,  he  continued  :  — 

"You  see,  my  dear  Mrs.  Paige,  this  speculative  fever 
seized  many  a  man  as  honest  and  upright  as  my  late 
partner.  Character  did  nt)t  come  into  the  question  at  all. 
It  had  no  more  to  do  with  a  man's  reputation  than  typhoid 
fever,  or  typhus  fever,  or  any  other  fever." 

The  merchant  now  extended  one  of  his  hands,  as  if 


THE  VETERAN   OF  TH^E   GRAND   ARMY.  95 


about  to  deliver  a  lecture  on  tlie  morality  and  immorality 
of  speculation. 

Mrs.  Paige  interrupted  him. 

"  Mr.  Cringar,"  she  said,  "  I  do  not  need  that  you  should 
defend  Mr.  Paige's  character  to  me.  I  will  thank  you  —  " 

"  Well,  then,  —  well,  then,  —  you  see  'there  have  been 
very  bad  complications  in  our  own  business  on  account  of  it. 
Drawing  from  one's  legitimate  business  so  incessantly  to 
allay  this  terrible  fever,  it  brings  things  to  a  fearful  pass, 
madam.  You  see  there  it  was,  —  his  losing  so  many  thou 
sands  in  his  cotton  speculation,  it  was  a  bad  beginning." 

"  Mr.  Cringar,"  uttered  Margaret  Paige,  in  a  subdued  but 
steady  voice,  "  you  speak  to  me  in  riddles." 

"  I  suppose  so ;  it  must  seem  so,  my  dear  madam,"  re 
turned  Cringar,  whom  the  reader  will  readily  perceive  to 
be  devoid  of  all  necessary  qualifications  for  such  an  inter 
view  as  this  which  he  had  undertaken.  "  It 's  a  riddle 
to  all  of  us,  —  the  way  in  which  what  seemed  an  ample 
fortune  has  vanished.  It  seems  like  a  dream,  madam,  and 
if  I  'm  a  little  incoherent,  ascribe  it  to  the  difficulty  I  expe 
rience  in  trying  to  make  known  to  you  facts  which  I  know 
must  astound  you  and  make  you  miserable." 

"  This  cotton,  Mr.  Cringar,"  said  the  soldier's  widow,  in 
whom  now  a  feeling  of  contempt  was  mingling  with  her 
apprehensions,  "I  am  aware  that  Mr.  Paige  once  had  a 
transaction  in  cotton ;  but  he  informed  me  that  he  had 
made  much  money  by  it,  and  he  was  not  accustomed  to 
utter  an  untruth." 

"  Ah,  madam,  it  is  n't  for  me,  who  loved  him  like  a 
brother,  to  cast  any  aspersions  tfpon  the  character  of  my 
late  partner,  or  throw  doubts  on  his  integrity.  But  the 
fact  of  it  is,  madam,  he  undoubtedly  supposed  when  he 
told  you  that  he  had  cleared  a  profit  on  that  cotton,  that  he 


96  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

had  really  done  so.  The  market  was  rising  very  rapidly, 
and  he  was  n't  the  only  man  who  counted  on  profits  before 
his  time.  But  he  was  so  unfortunate  as  to  hold  on  too 
long,  though  I  kept  advising  him  to  let  it  go  ;  and  the  re 
sult  was  a  heavy  loss." 

"  He  never  told  me  of  this,  Mr.  Cringar." 

"  It  is  one  of  the  unfortunate  features  of  speculation, 
my  dear  madam,"  spoke  this  abject  tool,  who  was  begin 
ning  to  find  his  tongue,  —  "  one  of  the  unfortunate  features 
of  speculation,  that  even  the  noblest  and  most  open-hearted 
men  will  be  so  shamed  by  their  losses,  they  dare  not 
say 'anything  about  them  to  others,  often  feeling  the  most 
reluctant  to  make  them  known  j:o  those  who  really  have 
the  greatest  claims  on  their  confidence.  In  fact,  now  that 
you  speak  of  it,  Mrs.  Paige,  I  recall  to  mind,"  continued 
the  merchant,  lifting  his  right  hand  half-way  to  his  lips, 
with  the  long  forefinger  extended,  and  at  the  same  time 
bent  like  a  claw,  —  "  yes,  I  recall  to  mind  very  distinctly  his 
saying  to  me  once,  when  I  was  urging  him  to  sell  out,  even 
at  a  small  loss  rather  than  suffer  a  greater  one,  '  Jonas/  — 
for  he  always  spoke  to  me  familiarly,  — '  Jonas,  I  have  told 
my  wife  that  I  am  good  for  a  large  profit  on  this  cotton,  and 
I  intend  to  stick,'  —  excuse  me,  madam ;  that 's  a  phrase 
sometimes  used  in  speculation,  and  I  wish  to  quote  his 
exact  language,  — '  I  intend  to  stick  till  the  market  takes 
another  jump.'  " 

At  this  moment  Emma  came  in  from  the  street,  ac 
companied  by  Alice,  and  opened  the  door  of  the  draw 
ing-room,  when,  perceiving  her  mother  and  Jonas  Cringar 
alone,  and  comprehending  at  a  glance  somewhat  the  nature 
of  the  business  between  them,  she  made  a  move  to  retire. 
But  Mrs.  Paige  requested  her  to  enter. 

This  action  on  the  part  of  the  mother  was  the  result  of 
a  sudden  inspiration. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY..         97 

She  had  not  been  deceived  by  the  apparent  candor  of 
the  merchant,  clothed  though  it  was  by  such  verbosity  as 
as  he  had  displayed.  She  had  by  no  means  a  superficial 
knowledge  of  human  nature ;  she  had  closely  observed 
Jonas  Cringar  while  he  so  desperately  labored  to  acquit 
himself  properly  in  the  business  he  had  undertaken,  and 
apprehended  that  some  powerful  influence  had  been  ex 
erted  to  subdue  the  natural  impulses  which  she  was  certain 
his  heart  felt  toward  the  family  of  his  late  partner.  She 
therefore,  on  seeing  Emma  and  Alice,  instantly  formed  a 
resolve  to  re-enforce  these  impulses. 

"  Emma,"  she  said,  "  will  you  and  Alice  please  sing  that 
duet  which  Mr.  Cringar  loved  so  much  to  hear  when  he 
came  to  see  your  father." 

Emma  was  surprised  by  this  request,  for  it  was  the  first 
time  her  mother  had  desired  them  to  sing  since  their 
father's  death. 

As  for  the  merchant,  he  already  began  to  experience 
those  reactionary  emotions  on  which  Mrs.  Paige  had  calcu 
lated.  He  was  silent,  however. 

Emma  went  up  to  the  piano  with  Alice,  and  opening  it 
for  the  first  time  for  many  weeks,  turned  and  said,  while 
she  looked  inquiringly  toward  the  merchant,  — 

"  Mr.  Cringar  loved  to  hear  more  than  one  duet  ? " 

The  merchant  said  nothing  in  answer  to  this  remark, 
but  his  face  betrayed  the  internal  struggle  of  Ms  soul. 

"  Your  German  song,  Stille  Naclit"  said  Mrs.  Paige. 

This  beautiful  trio,  sung  as  a  duet  by  the  sisters,  so 
well  calculated  both  to  touch  and  soothe  the  spirit  in  its 
varied  moods  and  to  awake  in  the  soul  the  tenderest  rem 
iniscences,  began  at  once  to  produce  a  remarkable  effect 
on  the  already  agitated  countenance  of  Jonas  Cringar. 
The  German  words  had  formerly  been  interpreted  to  him, 


98        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

so  that  he  understood  their  meaning,  while  they  'lent 
to  the  song  a  sweetness  which  no  translation  could  have 
done. 

Emma  and  Alice  had  not  sung  this  song  since  their 
father  died,  and  though  their  tones  were  firm  when  they 
began,  thoughts  of  this  beloved  father  soon  caused  their 
voices  to  tremble,  and  the  exertion  they  were  compelled  to 
make  to  master  their  emotions  served  but  to  enhance  the 
profoundly  touching  effect  of  the  music. 

This,  added  to  the  natural  character  of  the  song,  seemed 
to  bring  the  merchant  into  the  very  presence  of  the  de 
parted  soldier,  and  with  an  audible  groan  he  buried  his  face 
in  his  hands. 

Mrs.  Paige  now  rose,  and,  advancing,  placed  her  hand  on 
his  shoulder. 

At  this  instant  the  bell  sounded  through  the  house  with 
a  loud,  harsh  ring. 

As  his  ears  were  greeted  by  this  ominous  sound,  Jonas 
Cringar  suddenly  lifted  his  head,  clasped  the  arm  of  the 
chair  with  his  quivering  hand,  and  gazed  at  the  door 
with  a  face  so  distorted  with  fear,  that  Emma  and  Alice, 
who  had  turned  when  the  bell  rang,  stopped  in  the  last 
measures  of  the  song,  startled  and  alarmed  by  his  extraor 
dinary  aspect;  while  the  mother  seemed  to  divine  the 
cause  of  this  agitation,  to  which  her  own  heart  to  a  degree 
responded. 

In  another  moment  the  thick  and  ursine  form  of  Daniel 
Garvin  presented  itself  at  the  threshold. 

"  I  trust  I  do  not  intrude,"  he  said  in  a  rasping  voice, 
at  the  same  time  sending  a  terrific  glance  at  the  blanching 
merchant. 

The  ladies  made  no  answer,  but  Jonas  Cringar  muttered 
in  a  scarcely  audible  voice,  — 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        99 

"  You  're  entirely  welcome." 

"  I  thought  so,"  returned  the  broker,  coming  forward  and 
making  a  formal  bow  to  all  in  the  room  at  once,  while 
his  upper  lip  drew  back  so  as  to  expose  his  threatening 
teeth. 

Then  taking  a  chair  he  turned  to  Mrs.  Paige  and 
said :  — 

"  I  was  at  Mr.  Cringar's  store  a  short  time  since,  and, 
though  I  did  not  find  him  there,  I  found  your  note  re 
questing  him  to  meet  you  here  1jhis  evening,  on  business 
concerning  the  estate  of  your  late  husband.  And  not 
withstanding  you  intimated,  madam,  that  it  might  not  be 
so  agreeable  a  task  for  me  to  perform  as  for  him,  I  at  once 
decided  that  you  should  not  be  left  half  enlightened  from 
any  lack  of  zeal  on  my  part,  and  therefore  I  am  here,  at 
your  service,  madam." 

The  closing  words  of  this  speech,  "  at  you  service,  mad 
am,"  were  uttered  in  a  tone  in  which  the  hidden  sarcasm 
of  it  culminated,  being  also  accompanied  by  a  slight  bow. 

Mrs.  Paige  heard  him  through  with  a  firm,  steady  look ; 
while  Jonas  Cringar,  having  cast  his  eyes  on  the  speaker 
when  he  commenced,  withdrew  them  and  riveted  them  to 
the  carpet  with  a  look  of  distress  on  Garvin's  informing 
the  widow  of  his  finding  the  note.  He  immediately  cursed 
himself  for  his  carelessness. 

The  broker  waited  a  moment,  while  he  changed  his 
glance  from  Mrs.  Paige  to  the  daughters,  who  still  re 
mained  at  the  piano,  and  then  to  the  merchant. 

Then  he  asked  in  a  harsh,  cutting  voice,  — 

"  Is  the  business  finished  ?  or  is  this  music  only  serving 
you  as  an  interlude  ? " 

We  have  before  seen  that  Cringar  was  not  without  spirit ; 
and  the  overbearing  manner  of  the  broker  toward  this 


100       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

family,  for  whom  he  really  had  so  high  a  regard,  and 
who,  through  his  villanous  schemes,  were  now  on  the  brink 
of  ruin,  served  to  rouse  him  for  an  instant  from  his  lethargic 
fears. 

He  leaned  forward  in  his  chair,  and  fixed  on  Garvin  a 
look  of  indignant  rebuke. 

"  The  music,"  he  answered,  "  was  an  act  of  attention  to 
one  who  has  spent  many  happy  hours  in  this  house." 

The  only  answer  the  broker  vouchsafed  to  this  was  a 
gleam  of  his  malevolent  eye,  and  an  apparently  uncon 
scious  movement  of  his  hand  to  the  pocket  from  which  he 
had  taken  the  damning  paper  on  the  night  of  Allen  Paige's 
death. 

The  merchant  turned  pale,  and  again  sank  helplessly 
back. 

Mrs.  Paige  now  spoke. 

"  Mr.  Garvin,  Mr.  Cringar  had  barely  commenced  de 
tailing  the  condition  in  what  he  is  pleased  to  affirm  my 
late  husband's  business  was  in  when  he  left  me.  What  he 
has  already  told  me  I  must  say  to  you  as  I  have  said  to 
him,  that  it  is  impossible." 

"  What  have  you  told  her  ? "  demanded  Garvin,  sharply, 
fixing  his  ringed  orb  on  the  once  more  cowering  eye  of  the 
merchant. 

"  The  cotton,"  was  Cringar's  simple  answer. 

"  Well,  what  of  it  ? "  returned  the  broker,  while  a  frown 
began  to  darken  his  features. 

"  Simply  this,"  said  Mrs.  Paige,  "  that  what  he  has  told 
me  about  Mr.  Paige's  cotton  transaction  is  entirely  contra 
dictory  to  my  husband's  own  statements,  and  is  to  me 
incredible." 

Garvin's  features  now  began  to  gather  that  expression 
which  we  have  beheld  at  the  crises  of  his  interviews  with 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       101 

the  merchant.  On  beholding  these  signs  of  an  approaching 
scene,  Oingar  closed  his  eyes  and  shuddered. 

Having  darkened  his  direful  visage  with  the  gloomy 
clouds  of  the  coming  storm,  the  broker  prepared  to  let 
loose  the  thunder. 

"  Madam  ! "  he  exclaimed,  in  his  harshest  and  most  pene 
trating  accents,  "  we  have  found  our  work  sufficiently  un 
grateful,  without  the  addition  of  your  own  ingratitude. 
Your  husband,  madam,  appears  to  have  been  a  rash  and 
reckless  man ;  and  when  he  appointed  his  partner  and  my 
self  as  executors  of  his  estate,  he  seems  to  have  calculated 
on  our  friendship  to  conceal  his  folly." 

Mrs.  Paige  now  made  a  motion  as  if  she  would  interrupt; 
but  Garvin  extended  his  right  hand,  and  cried,  —  • 

"  You  must  hear  me,  madam  1'" 

She  remained  silent. 

"Now,  madam,  I  will  at  once  to  business.  You  may 
believe  my  statements  or  not,  but  let  me  assure  you 
your  belief  does  n't  affect  the  result.  We  Ve  not  taken 
oath  to  act  according  to  your  belief,  but  according  to  law. 
Know  then  that  Mr.  Allen  Paige's  accounts  show  up  a  loss 
of  some  twenty  thousand  dollars  in  cotton,  losses  amount 
ing  to  over  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  in  mining  and 
oil,  and  thousands  with  Mr.  Cringar  himself  in  cotton 
goods,  and  also  from  complications  in  their  business,  re 
sulting  from  his  speculative  mania.  Is  this  not  so,  Mr. 
Cringar?" 

The  merchant  did  not  seem  to  hear  this  question. 

The  broker  bent  his  lurid  eyes  upon  him,  and  repeated 
it  in  a  voice  that  would  seem  to  penetrate  to  the  mer 
chant's  marrow. 

"  Jonas  Cringar,  is  this  not  sc  ? " 

The  wretched  man  looked  up  like  a  defenceless  animal 
wounded  by  a  beast  of  prey,  and  said  in  a  faint  voice,  — 


102  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

"  It  is  all  too  true  !  too  true ! " 

"  And  now,  madam,"  continued  Garvin,  rising  from  his 
chair,  "  it  is  my  duty  to  inform  you,  without  further  delay, 
that  you  can  no  longer  support  this  costly  house,  for  it  is 
not  yours.  It  must  be  sold  to  pay  the  debts  of  the  estate, 
and  that  immediately.  And  let  me  tell  you,  as  a  sort  of 
guardian,"  —  the  broker  could  not  keep  entirely  back  the 
appearance  of  a  sardonic  grin  as  he  said  this,  —  "  that  you 
must  either  live  on  the  charity  of  others,  or  seek  some 
means  of  support  with  your  daughters  here,"  —  he  turned 
his  satanic  visage  on  Emma  and  Alice,  —  "who,  I  am 
happy  to  see,  look  hearty  and  strong." 

Mrs.  Paige  had  risen  at  the  last  of  this  heartless  speech, 
and  stood,  overwhelmed  with  conflicting  emotions,  support 
ing  herself  at  the  table.  She  was  moved  by  profound  in 
dignation,  not  unmingled  with  disgust;  but  at  the  same 
time  her  soul  sickened  with  the  conviction  that  the  man 
before  her  held .  the  power  to  make  real  all  that,  in  his 
words,  threatened  her  and  her  family.  She  stood  gazing 
on  this  diabolical  destroyer  of  her  peace,  while  her  various 
emotions  displayed  themselves  on  her  countenance,  but  she 
could  find  no  words. 

Daniel  Garvin  enjoyed  for  a  space  the  distressed  con 
fusion  of  this  unhappy  widow  of  his  patriotic  half-brother, 
and  then,  drawing  back  his  upper  lip,  he  said,  — 

"Mrs.  Paige,  I  would  add  —  " 

Ere  he  could  say  more  Emma  stepped  forward  to  her 
mother's  rescue. 

Her  beautiful  face  was  flushed,  and  her  clear  hazel  eyes 
were  lit  by  an  indignation  so  deep  and  strong  that  even 
Daniel  Garvin  could  not  meet  their  gaze  unmoved.  As 
she  thus  stood  before  him,  with  her  form  erect,  and  her 
head  thrown  back,  she  recalled  to  the  mind  of  this  unnat- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  103 

ural  uncle  her  father,  when  his  generous  and  impulsive 
spirit  would  be  stirred  by  passion.  As  this  recollection 
thus  crossed  his  mind,  he  experienced  a  secret  smiting  of 
his  conscience,  which  mingled  with  emotions  of  dark  and 
brooding  triumph. 

"Sir!"  exclaimed  this  noble  daughter,  in  a  voice  cor 
responding  with  her  looks,  "  you  have  said  you  came  here 
on  business.  That  business  is  for  the  present  finished. 
Whatever  of  truth  or  falsehood  there  may  be  in  your 
statements,  my  mother  can  hear  no  more.  We  would  be 
alone." 

"  Certainly,  my  dear,"  returned  Garvin ;  and,  taking  his 
hat,  he  withdrew,  followed  by  Jonas  Cringar. 


CHAPTEK    XIII. 

A  FEW  days  after  the  interview  between  Mrs.  Paige 
and  the  merchant 'and  broker,  Emma  sat  meditating 
in  her  room.  She  thought  of  Cringar  and  her  uncle, 
and  a  shudder  went  through  her  frame.  A  woful  future 
loomed  before  her  vision.  She  thought,  too,  of  her  mother, 
who  had  just  risen  from  an  illness  brought  on  by  the  reve 
lation,  in  all  its  fulness,  of  the  atrocious  plot  which  the 
previous  whisperings  and  rumors  had  presaged,  and  her  eyes 
were  wet  with  tears.  The  events  of  the  past  few  days 
had  proved  too  much  for  even  her  brave  and  elastic  nature. 
Her  cheeks  had  paled,  and  a  shade  of  blue  appeared  under 
her  hazel  eyes,  which  gave  signs  of  anxiety  and  weeping. 

In  her  sorrow,  however,  there  were  two  figures  which 
continually  came  to  her  mind ;  these  were  the  figures  of 
the  Veteran  and  Prescott  Marland.  The  former  rose  be- 


104       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

fore  her  as  a  power  which  was  indefinably  mingled  with 
her  future.  When  the  image  of  her  father  came  to  her 
mind,  this  majestic  form  ever  seemed  to  accompany  it. 
She  could  not  think  of  one  without  recalling  the  other. 

But  from  the  Veteran  she  invariably  passed  to  another, 
who  was  also  associated  in  her  mind  with  her  father.  This 
association  was,  however,  of  a  more  tender  character.  When 
she  thought  of  him,  the  blood  slightly  flushed  the  pale 
cheeks,  and  the  saddened  eye  kindled  with  the  heart's 
involuntary  emotions. 

She  would  continually  recall  to  her  mind  the  look  which 
appeared  in  his  eyes,  when  he  took  her  by  the  hand  after 
his  brave  contest  with  the  ruffians  who  had  assaulted  her. 
The  look  was  only  for  an  instant,  but  it  was  none  the  less  to 
be  remembered.  It  was  one  of  those  impressions  that  pass 
beyond  the  retina  of  the  eye,  beyond  the  brain,  to  be  in- 
effaceably  fixed  within  the  heart  itself,  where  it  remains 
forever. 

Her  own  soul  had  responded  to  the  thrill  which  was 
experienced  by  Prescott  when  he  held  her  hand,  and  which 
was  simultaneous  with  the  look  so  vividly  impressed  upon 
her  heart.  But  scarcely  would  she  acknowledge  it  to  her 
self. 

It  is  a  charming  feature  of  virgin  love,  that  the  maiden 
who  experiences  its  first  throbs  not  only  shrinks  from  the 
thought  that  it  may  be  perceived  by  the  world,  but  she 
will  even  shut  out  her  own  common  self  from  the  scrutiny ; 
and  while  the  budding  sentiment  is  nursed  in  the  most 
secret  and  the  tenderest  depths  of  the  heart,  she  closes  the 
eye  of  introspection  just  enough  to  lend  a  delicate  fascina 
tion  to  what  it  beholds  ;  like  one  who,  gazing  at  the  dawn, 
gently  closes  the.  lid  that  its  glory  may  be  seen  through 
the  lashes,  and  acquire  a  dreamlike  charm  and  beauty. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       105 

It  was  from  this  maidenly  by-play,  probably,  that  the 
Veteran  was  generally  first  allowed  to  assume  definite 
shape  in  her  mind.  It  would  seem  as  if  he  was  kept  in 
the  foreground,  that  her  own  mind  might  rest  satisfied  that 
the  heart  was  not  playing  false ;  while  in  reality  the  ob 
ject  held  in  the  distance  was  continually  drawing  the  mind 
away,  lit  up  in  an  entrancing  haze  by  the  rays  of  the 
golden  sunlight. 

As  Emma  sat  in  her  room  on  the  day  we  have  men- 
Ijoned,  she  had,  as  we  have  said,  been  thinking  of  those 
things  which  filled  her  heart  with  apprehension  and  grief. 

At  length  her  thoughts  began  to  dwell  on  the  Veteran 
and  Prescott  Marland.  Neither  had  as  yet  responded  to 
her  invitation  to  visit  the  home  of  their  comrade,  her  own 
sainted  father.  They  had  promised  to  do  so,  and  she  could 
not  readily  believe  the  promise  would  be  broken. 

Yet,  after  weeks  had  passed,  and  one  day  succeeded  an 
other  with  no  word  from  either,  a  fear  began  to  steal  into 
her  mind  that  their  adieus,  made  when  they  parted  on  the 
evening  they  had  so  strangley  met,  might,  perchance,  be 
the  last. 

While  in  the  midst  of  these  thoughts  she  heard  a  knock 
at  the  door. 

"  Come  in,"  she  said. 

The  maid  entered,  bearing  a  card  on  which  was  written 
the  name  of  Prescott  Marland. 

This  name,  announcing  the  presence,  below,  of  one  of 
whom  she  was  at  that  moment  so  earnestly  thinking, 
caused  the  telltale  blood  to  mount  to  her  cheeks. 

"  Tell  him,"  she  said  in  some  confusion,  "  that  I  will  be 
down  in  a  few  moments." 

The  maid,  who  had  observed  her  mistress's  confusion, 
retired,  saying  to  herself,  "  It  is  the  common  lot ! "  while 

5* 


106        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Emma  hastily  prepared  herself  to  meet  one  who  had 
recently  occupied  so  large  a  share  of  her  thoughts. 

"  Mr.  Marland,"  said  Emma,  as  she  entered  the  drawing- 
room  into  which  Prescott  had  been  ushered,  "  I  welcome 
you  to  the  home  of  my  dear  father  and  your  friend." 

"  I  thank  you,  Miss  Paige ;  but  I  would  amend  your 
kind  welcome." 

"  You  may  do  so,"  returned  Emma,  with  a  smile. 

"  You  said,  '  my  dear  father  and  your  friend.'  I  would 
say, '  my  dear  father  and  your  dear  friend.' "  m 

"Thank  you." 

An  expression  of  tender  sadness  mingled  with  her  smile, 
as  Emma  uttered  this  response.  At  the  same  time  she 
experienced  a  sentiment  of  pride,  on  hearing  such  words 
from  one  of  whom  her  father  had  spoken  so  highly,  and 
whom  she  herself  looked  upori  as  the  type  of  nobleness. 

"My  father  never  dreamed  of  such  a  first  meeting  as 
was  ours,  when  he  used  to  speak  so  warmly  of  your  friend 
ship,"  she  said. 

"  Neither  did  I,"  returned  Prescottj  "  when  he  used  to 
speak  of  you  in  our  conversations  at  the  hospital.  And 
yet,  Miss  Paige,  being  of  a  somewhat  romantic  turn  of 
mind,  I  will  confess  that  my  knowledge  of  the  father, 
added  to  the  pictures  he  drew  of  his  daughter,  led  me  into 
youthful  dreams  of  saving  her  from  some  great  peril ;  and 
here  the  dream  is  fulfilled,  —  that  is,  in  a  measure." 

Both  blushed.  Such  youthful  dreams  are  associated  with 
ideal  love  ;  and  what  Prescott  intended  in  the  commence 
ment  to  be  a  gallant  remark  was  to  both,  before  he  had 
finished,  evidently  something  that  went  much  further  than 
gallantry. 

"  You  say,  '  in  a  measure,' "  remarked  Emma,  after  a 
moment's  silence.  "  Why  in  a  measure  ? " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       107 

"  Because  others  were  engaged  in  the  rescue  as  well  as 
myself,"  laughingly  answered  Prescott. 

"  I  am  grateful  to  all/'  returned  Emma  ;  "  but  if  it  had 
not  been  for  your  courage  and  strength,  Mr.  Marland,  I 
fear  I  should  not  now  be  here  to  welcome  you." 

Having  discharged  himself  of  his  duty,  which  modesty 
demanded  to  others,  Prescott  was  but  too  happy  to  hear 
his  praises  from  lips  so  charming. 

Both  now  felt  more  at  their  ease,  and  the  conversation 
flowed  on  with  a  mutual  enjoyment  which  each  secretly 
wished  might  be  prolonged  into  hours.  That  confidence 
which  underlies  all  true  affection  began  to  manifest  itself 
in  a  manner  which  a  reader  of  the  human  heart  would  at 
once  interpret. 

None  had  greater  reason  to  repose  confidence  in  each 
other,  at  this  early  stage  of  their  acquaintance,  than 
these  young  people.  That  noble  and  affectionate  father, 
whom  both  loved,  one  as  a  parent  and  the  other  as  a 
friend,  had  brought  them  together  in  spirit  long  before 
they  had  ever  seen  each  other  in  the  body.  As  we  have 
seen,-  their  very  hearts  had  reached  out  toward  each  other 
in  response  to  the  utterances  of  the  now  beatified  patriot ; 
and  it  only  remained  that  the  ideal  they  had  each  drawn 
be  tested  by  the  presence  of  the  real. 

This  test,  made  under  circumstances,  as  formerly  narrated, 
so  favorable  to  the  heart's  emotions,  had  confirmed  all  that 
the  ideal  had  fondly  pictured ;  and  now,  as  they  conversed, 
they  seemed  to  have  been  acquainted  for  years. 

Emma  had  apologized  in  behalf  of  her  mother,  on  ac 
count  of  illness,  at  an  early  stage  of  the  visit.  When  she 
thus  apologized,  the  ill-boding  presence  of  Daniel  Garvin 
came  to  her  mind,  as  he  appeared  on  the  night  that  he 
revealed  the  future  he  had  prepared  for  them.  She  shud- 


108  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

dered  at  this  recollection,  and  for  a  moment  seemed  to 
forget  even  the  presence  of  her  visitor. 

Prescott  observed  her  agitation,  but  ascribed  it  to  emo 
tions  connected  with  her  mother's  illness  and  father's 
death.  She  had  more  than  once  felt  impelled  to  reveal  to 
him  the  situation  of  affairs,  and  the  cause  of  her  mother's 
illness,  which  would  explain  also  the  evidences  of  sorrow 
that  appeared  on  her  own  countenance ;  for,  with  woman's 
intuition,  she  knew  that  he  not  only  perceived  these  evi 
dences,  but  that  his  mind  was  disturbed  with  conjectures 
as  to  their  cause. 

At  length,  in  the  course  of  this  interview,  in  which 
minutes  seemed  to  these  youthful  hearts  but  seconds, 
Emma  was  sent  for  by  her  mother.  Excusing  herself  for 
a  few  moments,  she  left  Prescott  alone. 

He  now  contemplated,  as  had  Joseph  on  a  former  occa 
sion,  the  evidences  of  affluence  which  surrounded  him. 
Like  Joseph  he  admired  the  works  of  art,  though,  unlike 
this  poor  boy,  the  richly  carved  furniture  did  not  so  much 
engross  his  attention,  nor  did  the  warmth  which  came  from 
the  ornamented  registers  remind  him  of  a  cold  mother  and 
sisters  in  a  home  of  want ;  for  though  his  family  were  not 
wealthy,  they  never  lacked  for  those  things  essential  to 
comfort,  and  had,  moreover,  been  able  to  gratify,  to  a  con 
siderable  extent,  their  naturally  fine  taste.  But,  as  I  have 
said,  Prescott  contemplated  the  works  of  art  about  him 
with  admiration. 

The  paintings  had  been  evidently  selected  for  their  true 
artistic  qualities.  Harmony,  force,  and  freedom  indicated 
the  master,  while  here  and  there  a  small  painting,  in  which 
crudities  mingled  with  the  touches  of  genius,  confirmed  the 
reputation  won  by  Allen  Paige,  of  kindly  encouraging  the 
young  and  struggling  artist. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       109 

The  statuary  indicated  equally  good  taste.  In  the 
midst  of  classic  copies  appeared  some  of  the  famous  groups 
.by  John  Kogers,  which  present  in  so  vivid  and  instructive 
a  manner  the  various  phases  of  the  Eebellion. 

But  what  fastened  the  attention  of  this  already  ardent 
lover  more  than  all  else  was  a  water-color,  in  one  corner 
of  which,  as  he  approached  it,  his  quick  eye  had  detected 
the  name  of  Emma  Paige.  It  was  niuch  above  the  standard 
of  the  usual  artistic  performances  of  young  ladies  (no  im 
putation  is  intended;  the  young  women  of  America  are 
showing  a  commendable  zeal  in  the  direction  of  art  culture, 
and  are  worthily  improving  their  opportunities),  being 
characterized  by  originality,  and  a  freedom  from  the  con 
ventional  hardness  and  stiffness  which  results  from  a  false 
idea  as  to  what  constitutes  finish. 

The  subject  of  this  sketch  was  a  vista,  formed  by  lofty 
and  graceful  elms,  through  which  appeared  the  western 
sky  in  the  glory  of  an  autumnal  sunset.  Walking  down 
this  vista,  their  forms  borrowing  a  slight  glory  from  the 
distance  against  which  they  were  boldly  painted,  were  a 
youth  and  a  maiden  hand  in  hand. 

Prescott  stood  entranced  before  this  picture,  forgetting 
all  else ;  and  as  the  rumbling  of  the  carriages  without  had 
combined  with  the  silence  within  to  enhance  the  abstraction 
of  Joseph's  mind,  as  he  profoundly  meditated  on  the  vicis 
situdes  of  earthly  fortunes,  so  now  this  rumbling  in  the 
street,  combined  with  the  silence  about  him,  served  to 
deepen  Prescott's  contemplations,  as  he  gazed  on  those  two 
forms  against  the  golden  sky. 

With  the  fervor  of  newly  awakened  passion  his  heart 
read  a  prophecy  in  this  picture.  It  seemed  as  if  the 
lovely  artist  had  painted  herself,  thus  hand  in  hand  with 
him. 


110       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Ah !  the  egotism  of  love,  and  yet  its  insidious  and  tor 
menting  fears !  The  smitten  lover  absorbs  all  things  to 
himself,  and  yet  his  heart  is  an  unceasing  victim  of  un 
certainty  and  apprehension.  Does  one  who  fancies  him 
self  in  love  not  experience  this  ?  —  then  he  is  not  in 
love. 

Thus  with  the  young  lover  who  contemplates  this  picture 
from  the  hand  of  the  one  he  loves.  His  heart  pictures  that 
fair  hand  giving  to  each  touch  a  prophetic  meaning,  and  he 
the  object  of  that  prophecy.  Then  immediately  it  is  op 
pressed  with  doubtful  thoughts.  "  Is  her  love  not  pledged 
to  another  ?  And  even  if  it  is  not,  what  claims  have  I, 
Prescott  Marland,  a  rough  fellow,  a  fellow  who  has  been 
knocking  around  the  world,  and  got  the  smell  of  camp-fires 
on  me.  —  A  hand  "  (here  he  eyes  his  large  muscular  hand) 
well  enough  to  knock  a  rascal  down  with  who  insults  her, 
but  hardly  the  hand  to  clasp  her  delicate  little  fingers,  — 
a  fellow  that  needs  smoothing  down  before  he  can  expect 
to  win  one  like  her."  Then,  in  his  enamored  musings,  he 
pictured  this  lovely  girl  as  the  one  of  all  others  to  make 
him  the  man  he  wanted  to  be.  Under  her  potent  influence 
he  would  become  as  gentle  as  a  lamb,  and  his  hasty  pas 
sions  only  be  reserved  for  her  defence.  And  all  the  time 
the  distant  rumbling  of  the  teams  and  the  surrounding 
silence  lent  their  aid  to  the  increasing  and  all-absorbing 
influence  of  the  picture  before  him. 

While  thus  standing,  rapt  in  tender  contemplation  of 
her  sketch,  Emma  so  lightly  entered  the  room  that  he  did 
not  hear  her.  He  so  stood  that,  while  his  back  was  mostly 
turned  toward  her,  a  quarter- view  of  his  face  was  revealed. 
In  this  view  the  profounder  manifestations  of  the  soul  often 
appear  on  the  countenance  with  remarkable  effect.  In  the 
present  instance  Prescott's  expressive  face,  though  so  nearly 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       Ill 

turned  from  her,  revealed,  in  combination  with  his  attitude, 
the  nature  of  the  thoughts  which  agitated  his  soul  with 
such  tender  and  conflicting  emotions. 

In  an  instant  this  fair  girl's  cheeks  were  covered  with 
blushes. 

That  the  reader  may  understand  the  cause  of  this  charm 
ing  confusion,  it  is  necessary  for  us  to  remark  that  she  had 
more  than  once  stood  before  that  same  picture,  as  her  visitor 
now  stood  before  it,  and  formed  into  living  portraits  the 
figures  of  the  two  lovers  who  were  wending  their  way  down 
the  romantic  vista. 

These  portraits  were  Prescott  Marland  and  herself ! 

Becoming  suddenly  aware  of  her  presence,  Prescott 
turned.  Thus  finding  himself  surprised  in  the  midst  of 
his  enamored  thoughts,  and  perceiving  the  blushes  on 
the  fair  face  of  her  who  had  so  engrossed  his  meditations, 
this  dreaming  lover  felt  himself  detected,  and  blush  re 
sponded  to  blush. 

A  celebrated  preacher  and  lecturer  recently  informed  his 
audience  that  he  never  saw  two  young  people  in  love  that 
he  did  n't  wish  himself  one  of  them.  We  doubt  not  that  if 
he  could  have  looked  in  at  the  moment  Prescott  turned,  he 
would  have  had  but  little  hesitation  in  deciding  that  such 
a  wish  here  would  have  been  legitimate. 

They  now  resumed  their  seats. 

"  Miss  Paige,"  said  Prescott,  impelled  by  his  momentary 
confusion  to  utter  what  first  came  to  his  mind,  "  I  have 
been  admiring  your  art-treasures,  for  such  I  must  call  them. 
You  certainly  must  be  very  happy  in  the  possession  of  so; 
many  mementos  of  your  father,  to  whose  taste,  judging 
from  his  conversations  with  me  at  the-  hospital,  these  walls 
are  largely  indebted.  I  should  think,"  he  continued,  seeing 
that  his  listener  remained  silent,  "  that  you  would  always 


112  THE  VETERAN   OF   THE  .GRAND   ARMY. 

wish  to  remain  here.    To  your  mother  everything  must  be 
especially  dear —  " 

Ere  he  could  go  on  Emma  had  quickly  covered  her  face 
with  her  handkerchief,  and  then,  with  one  great  struggle  to 
control  herself,  she  broke  into  violent  weeping. 


CHAPTEK    XIV. 

AS  we  have  remarked,  Prescott,  in  his  momentary 
confusion,  uttered  that  which  first  came  to  his  mind. 
He  could  have  said  nothing,  to  one  whose  soul  had  already 
been  so  deeply  agitated,  more  calculated  to  affect  hei  in  the 
manner  which  now  threw  him  into  dismay. 

He  began  inwardly  to  berate  himself  as  a  stupid  fellow, 
who  thus  early  gave  indubitable  evidence  of  his  unfitness 
for  a  mind  so  sensitive  and  refined. 

"Why  did  I  talk  to  her  in  that  way  ?"  he  said  to  him 
self.  "  Could  n't  I  have  seen  that  her  grief  for  her  father's 
death  is  as  keen  as  ever  ? " 

But  Emma  did  not  thus  accuse  him.  Even  in  the  midst 
of  her  sobbing  she  felt  drawn  still  nearer  to  him. 

"  Miss  Emma,"  he  at  length  said,  at  the  same  time  rising 
and  placing  his  right  hand  tenderly  on  her  arm,  "  forgive 
me  for  touching  a  tender  chord  so  roughly." 

This  was  the  first  time  he  had  called  her  by  her  given 
name. 

From  an  irresistible  impulse,  Emma  raised  her  own 
right  hand,  while  the  other  still  covered  her  face.  Pres 
cott  saw  this  movement.  He  withdrew  his  from  her  arm, 
and  in  the  next  instant  their  two  hands  were  clasped 
together. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  113 

For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  though  each  heart  was  pour 
ing  all  its  streams  of  life  into  the  other,  and  then  the  hands 
unclapsed. 

In  the  common  routine  of  life,  months  could  not  have 
accomplished  what  was  attained  in  that  moment  toward 
establishing  relations  of  confidence  between  these  two 
souls. 

Emma  suddenly,  as  it  were,  found  herself  with  one  to 
whom  she  could  unbosom  all  her  sorrows. 

When  their  hands  were  unclasped,  Prescott  said,  — 

"  Let  me  be  a  brother  to  you." 

"  Ah  yes !  an  elder  brother.  Do  you  know,"  con 
tinued  Emma,  now  wiping  away  the  tears,  while  she 
smiled  upon  him  through  her  glistening  lashes, — "do 
you  know  that  I  have  longed  for  an  elder  brother, 
in  whom  to  confide,  for  several  weeks  past  ?  And  my 
dear  mother  needs  a  son.  You  will  be  a  son  to  her, 
will  you  not?" 

"  I  will,"  responded  Prescott. 

The  delightful  emotion,  on  hearing  himself  thus  as 
sociated  with  the  mother's  name  as  her  son  was  quickly 
resolved  into  a  profound  sentiment  of  devotion  to  the 
widow  and  orphan  children  of  his  comrade. 

"  I  suspect,"  he  continued,  "  that  you  have  other  causes 
for  sorrow  beside  the  death  of  your  father.  Is  it  here  that 
I  can  help  you  ? " 

"  Alas  !  I  can  hardly  tell ! "  exclaimed  Emma,." but  you 
shall  know  all." 

She  thereupon  gave  Prescott  a  detailed  account  of  all 
that  had  occurred;  of  the  appointment  of  Jonas  Cringar 
and  her  uncle  as  executors^  and  of  the  whisperings  and 
rumors,  followed  by  the  scene  which  was  described  in  the 
previous  chapter,  and  in  which  Garvin  declared  to  them 


114  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

their  state  of  beggary.  When  she  came  to  her  mother's 
illness  the  tears  again  filled  her  eyes. 

Prescott's  fine  countenance  assumed  varied  expressions 
as  Emma  recounted  this  tale.  Sympathy,  indignation,  and 
contempt,  in  turn,  displayed  themselves.  But  when  he  be 
held  these  tears  his  wrath  broke  forth. 

"Villains!"  he  exclaimed.  "We  will  see  !"  At  the 
same  time  he  rested  his  clenched  hand  on  his  knee. 

"  Poor  mother ! "  continued  Emma.  "  She  hardly  knows 
how  to  act.  If  my  uncle  told  the  truth,  then  she  cannot 
bear  to  think  that  for  a  day  she  is  living  on  the  property 
of  others ;  for  not  only  are  we  left  penniless,  but  the  estate 
is  in  debt." 

rt  What  does  your  mother  propose  to  do  ? " 

"  She  has  n't  been  able  to  think.  She  was  taken  ill  the 
night  of  the  interview  with  Mr.  Cringar  and  my  uncle,  and 
any  effort  to  think  of  this  business  makes  her  dizzy." 

"  Then  please  tell  her  not  to  think  at  present.  I  believe 
there  is  a  base  plot  under  all  this,  and  I  know  of  one  who 
can  ferret  it  out,  if  such  is  the  case." 

Emma  looked  at  Prescott  with  inquiring  interest. 

"  It  is  Thorbolt." 

"  General  Hammond  ? " 

"Yes." 

"  But  would  General  Hammond  trouble  himself  for  us  ? " 

"  Your  father  sacrificed  his  life  on  the  altar  of  his  coun 
try.  His  death  leaves  his  family  exposed  to  what  I  believe 
a  villanous  plot.  When  I  shall  have  laid  all  the  circum 
stances  before  the  General,  depend  on  his  hearty  co-opera 
tion  with  me.  He  has  leisure,  which  enables  him  to  do 
much  that  otherwise  he  coul(£  not  do.  It  will  not  be  the 
first  time.  I  cannot  now  tell  you.  of  the  number  of  the 
families  of  his  comrades  he  has  aided  in  different  ways." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       115 

"  But  my  father  was  not  a  member  of  your  Order,  and  we 
cannot  be  considered  as  destitute." 

"  Ah,  Miss  Emma  !  here  lies  one  of  the  noblest  charac 
teristics  of  our  organization.  We  do  not  confine  our  bene 
factions  to  its  members.  We  reach  out  to  all  Union  soldiers, 
or  their  families,  who  suffer.  Of  course  one  of  our  promi 
nent  duties  is  to  seek  out  those  families  of  the  soldier  who 
are  in  need,  and  relieve  their  wants.  Our  fund,  which  is 
devoted  to  this  purpose,  is  often  called  a  Charity  fund,  but 
it  should  always  be  called  a  Eelief  fund.  When  we  aided 
our  comrades,  who  were  suffering  on  the  field  for  want  of 
food  or  clothing,  we  did  not  call  our  help  charity,  but  re 
lief.  So  with  those  who  demand  our  aid  at  home.  They 
are  not  objects  of  charity,  they  justly  claim  relief;  and 
therefore  the  fund  which  accomplishes  this  should  be  called 
the  Eelief  fund.  Charity  presupposes  no  obligation,  in 
the  common  acceptation  of  that  term,  on  the  part  of  the 
donor,  whereas  the  suffering  families  of  the  patriot  soldier 
have  claims  which  no  lack  of  memory  can  obliterate  from 
the  records  of  a  preserved  Union." 

"  True  !  oh,  how  true !  It  is  what  we  always  told  the 
Deerings.  Father  would  say,  '  Tell  Mrs.  Deering  that  if  I 
had  been  lying  a  sufferer  on  the  field,  and  her  husband  had 
been  at  hand,  he  would  have  given  me  all  the  aid  in  his 
power  as  a  comrade ;  and  now  that  I  cannot  be  of  aid  to 
him  as  a  comrade  I  want  to  do  my  duty  to  his  family.' " 

"  Yes,  your  father's  sentiments  are  the  sentiments  of  our 
Order.  He  did  his  duty  as  an  individual ;  the  Grand  Army 
is  formed  that  as  an  organization  it  may  enable  the  million 
of  returned  soldiers  to  do  their  duty  in  the  same  way,  as 
ONE.  But  I  have  not  fully  answered  your  former  remark. 
Though  the  more  prominent  work,  which  the  Grand  Army 
has  laid  out  for  itself,  is  the  relief  of  soldiers'  families  who 


116  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

are  in  want,  yet  it  intends  also  to  fulfil  the  spirit  of  the 
law  I " 

"  The  spirit  of  the  law  ? "  repeated'  Emma,  with  an  in 
quiring  smile. 

"  It  is  an  expression  that  came  ready  to  my  lips.  This  is 
what  I  mean  by  it,"  returned  Prescott,  to  whose  ardor  in  the 
cause  of  the  Grand  Army  was  added  an  exquisite  happiness 
in  thus  being  permitted  to  expound  its  principles  to  one  in 
whose  presence  he  so  loved  to  linger,  and  whom,  in  the 
swift  pictures  that  crossed  his  enamored  imagination,  he 
associated  with  himself  in  the  noble  labors  he  contemplated 
in  connection  with  the  future  work  of  the  organization 
which  so  engrossed  his  attention,  —  "  this  is  what  I  mean 
by  it :  I  mean  that  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic  in 
tends  to  see  fulfilled  the  spirit  of  all  promises  made  to  the 
soldier  when  he  left  his  home  and  went  to  the  field  to  help 
put  down  the  Eebellion.  When  those  promises  were  made, 
the  country  was  in  danger,  and  the  men  who  went  forth  to 
save  it  departed  with  "  God  bless  yous  !  "  that  filled  the 
whole  Northern  air.  If  they  should  fall  their  families 
would  be  adopted  by  a  grateful  people,  and  know  naught 
else  but  comfort ;  and  to  their  memory  should  be  erected 
monuments  to  remind  future  generations  of  their  heroic 
patriotism  and  a  nation's  gratitude.  If  they  should  escape 
the  dangers  of  war  and  return  in  safety,  then  would  they 
in  person  feel  this  undying  gratitude.  Nothing  that  could 
,be  done  for  them  should  be  left  undone.  They  would  be 
objects  of  special  favor ;  and,  other  things  being  equal,  the 
name  of  soldier  would  be  the  talisman  that  should  open 
the  way  to  employment  at  all  times.  All  this,  and  much 
more,  rang  forth  as  in  an  anthem,  and  with  a  fervor  it 
seemed  as  if  the  chill  of  a  hundred  winters  could  not  cool." 

"  You  speak  only  words  of  truth,"  uttered  Emma,  who 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       117 

had  listened  to  P-rescott's  words  with  unutterable  emotions. 
"  How  well  do  I  remember  all  that  was  said  when  my  own 
father  went  to  the  war ;  but/'  she  added,  "  do  you  not  think 
many  of  these  promises  have  been  fulfilled  ? " 

"  I  do.  There  are,  in  every  community,  men  who  forget 
not  their  obligations.  And  God  bless  the  loyal  press  of  the 
country  for  the  sympathy  they  have  displayed  toward  the 
soldier!  The  press  is  a  great  power  in  the  land,  Miss 
Emma  ;  and  it  has  done  much  to  keep  alive  the  memory  of 
those  obligations,  so  freely  acknowledged  by  the  loyal  citi 
zens  while  war  still  made  them  tremble.  I  would  not  speak 
too  harshly.  Forgetfulness  of  obligations  is  a  tendency  of 
public  bodies ;  and  therefore  it  is  that  the  soldiers  are  com 
bining  that  they  may  keep  alive  the  public  memory,  and  act 
as  executors  of  the  consequent  public  will." 

"  And  will  this  not  accomplish  what  my  dear  father  so 
often  desired  ?  He  used  to  say  that  none  could  so  value 
liberty  as  those  who  had  offered  up  their  lives  for  it ;  and 
he  hoped  the  returned  soldiers  would  so  unite  that  the  deep 
love  of  the  Eepublic,  which  service  in  the  field  had  im 
planted  in  their  breasts,  would  be  infused  into  the  hearts 
of  the  whole  nation,  and  forever  kept  alive." 

"  It  will,  Miss  Emma.  Your  father  presaged  in  his  hope 
one  of  the  great  principles  of  our  Order.  So  long  as  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Republic  lives,  liberty  cannot  die  I " 

During  this  conversation  on  the  Grand  Army,  Emma's 
soul  had  been  moved  by  the  profoundest  emotions;  but 
now  her  beautiful  countenance  glowed  as  by  inspiration. 
Raising  her  humid  eyes  to  heaven,  "  O  father ! "  she  ex 
claimed,  "ask  kind  Heaven  to  look  down  and  bless 
these  noble  men !  All  that  you  prayed  for  »so  earnestly, 
when  you  lay  on  your  bed  of  suffering,  they  are  to  accom 
plish!" 


118       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Prescott  was  in  turn  profoundly  affected  as  he  gazed 
upon  the  face  of  this  lovely  girl,  thus  lit  up  by  her  exalted 
emotions,  and  listened  to  the  words  which  she  uttered  with 
such  inspired  accent  to  her  sainted  father.  He,  in  that  mo 
ment,  realized  the  holiness  to  which  the  sentiment  of  pure 
love  is  akin  ;  for  while  his  soul  went  out  with  hers  in  that 
touching  appeal,  his  heart  went  out  with  it,  and  he  prayed 
God  that  a  woman,  gifted  with  a  nature  so  elevated,  might 
yet  aid  him  as  a  companion  in  the  patriotic  labors  he  con 
templated  for  the  future. 

When  Emma  lowered  her  eyes  she  met  Prescott's  ardent 
gaze,  in  which  inspiration  and  rapture  mingled.  A  slight 
blush  suffused  her  already  glowing  countenance;  but  it 
was  not  the  blush  of  shame.  It  seemed  to  lend  a  yet  more 
exalted  character  to  her  expression. 

"  Prescott,"  she  uttered  in  a  voice  of  surpassing  sweet 
ness,  as  if  all  further  form  had  been  swept  away  by  this 
holy  and  lofty  communion,  "  I  feel  that  it  is  God  who  is 
calling  into  existence  this  noble  unity  of  the  nation's  sol 
diers.  You  are  to  fulfil  a  sacred  mission.  The  blessings 
of  liberty  will  be  yours,  and  the  blessings  of  the  widow  and 
the  fatherless  ! "  Her  hand,  which  she  had  raised  in  an 
earnest  gesture,  now  fell  to  her  side,  and  her  eyes  were 
dimmed  with  tears.  "My  dear  father,"  she  continued, 
"  would  have  been  made  very  happy  if  he  had  met  with 
you  before  he  passed  away.  Your  name  was  on  his  lips, 
while  he  was  unconscious,  in  his  last  moments." 

Prescott's  own  eyes  glistened  with  tender  sympathy  as 
he  said  in  answer: — 

"  I  cannot  express  to  you  the  gratification  it  gives  me  to 
hear  of  the  regard  in  which  I  was  held  by  your  father.  He 
was  brave  and  noble,  and  when  you  tell  me  of  his  senti 
ments,  which  so  accord  with  the  spirit  and  purpose  of  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       119 

Grand  Army,  I  feel  spurred  on  to  work  with  still  greater  zeal 
for  an  organization  I  love  so  much.  But,  Emma,"  he  added, 
with  a  half-affectionate,  half-venturesome  smile,  as  the 
name  "  Emma "  fell  from  his  lips,  "  I  have  not  even  yet 
fully  answered  your  question,  —  the  question  concerning 
the  General's  interest  in  your  case,  as  a  member  of  the 
Grand  Army.  Let  me  assure  you  that  he  will  sacrifice 
much  in  behalf  of  Allen  Paige's  family.  And  if  once  he 
is  satisfied  that  there  is  foul  play  on  the  part  of  the  execu 
tors,  depend  upon  it  he  will  not  leave  a  stone  unturned  to 
confound  these  men." 

"Ah,  Prescott!"  returned  Emma,  who  having  uttered  that 
name  when  inspired  by  her  exalted  emotions,  now  repeated 
it  with  a  freedom  which  the  circumstances  of  that  first  ut 
terance  seemed  in  a  subtle  manner  to  insure  for  all  com 
ing  time,  —  "  ah,  Prescott!  I  now  feel  that  we  have  friends 
about  us,  come  whatever  may." 

"Ay,  and  I  trust  the  day  is  not  far  distant,  when 
throughout  the  land  there  will  not  be  one  family  of  the 
soldier  who  can  say  there  are  not  watchful  friends  about 
them." 

With  this  ardent  wish,  Prescott  took  his  leave,  and 
Emma,  after  musing  awhile  alone,  returned  to  her  mother, 
to  whom  she  recounted  that  portion  of  the  interview  which 
interested  her  in  so  special  a  manner. 


120       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GEAND  ABMY. 


CHAPTER   XV. 

TWO  months  have  rolled  away,  and  now,  on  the  day  this 
chapter  opens,  a  storm  is  howling  through  the  streets 
and  byways  with  wild  and  savage  fury. 

Late  in  the  afternoon  a  man  of  colossal  stature,  who  wore 
a  military  overcoat  that  effectually  protected  him  from  the 
wind  and  sleet,  turned  from  Fifth  Avenue  and  entered 
West  Twenty-Seventh  Street.  It  was  the  Veteran. 

Arriving  at  the  house  he  sought,  he  mounted  the  steps 
and  rang  the  bell. 

It  would  seem  as  if  the  noise  of  the  wind  prevailed 
throughout  the  house,  for  there  was  no  response. 

He  again  pulled  the  bell-handle,  but  more  vigorously 
than  before,  for  the  storm  followed  him  up  the  steps  and 
blew  his  cape  uncomfortably  about  his  head. 

This  time  the  ring  was  answered.  A  servant  opened  the 
door. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Paige  within  ? "  inquired  the  Veteran. 

"  Mrs.  Paige  ? "  repeated  the  servant,  wonderingly.  "  I  Ve 
been  in  this  house  but  since  this  morning  same ;  but  I 
think  no  sich  woman  lives  here." 

A  harsh  voice  now  sounded  through  the  hall. 

"  Who  has  that  front  door  open  ? "  it  exclaimed.  "  Shut 
it  instantly ! " 

At  the  same  moment  the  dark  visage  of  Daniel  Garvin 
appeared  at  the  farther  end  of  the  hall,  from  an  opened  door. 

A  scowl  of  impatience  disturbed  his  sardonic  counte 
nance  ;  and  the  wind,  that  whistled  through  the  house,  blew 
his  thin  dry  hair  about  in  such  a  manner  that  the  first 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       121 

thought  of  the  Veteran,  as  he  beheld  him,  was  of  a  man 
touched  with  the  insanity  of  a  demoniac. 

The  broker,  on  his  part,  left  an  expletive  unuttered,  as 
the  looming  form  of  the  Veteran  met  his  gaze,  covered  witk 
the  driving  sleet,  the  face  half  concealed  by  the  flying  cape. 

"  Ask  the  gentleman  in,  and  close  the  door  ! "  he  cried, 
advancing  into  the  hall. 

The  Veteran  stepped  inside,  followed  by  the  sleet,  and 
the  servant  closed  the  door  against  the  storm. 

As  these  two  men  now  stood  face  to  face,  undisturbed  by 
the  fury  of  the  elements,  they  at  once  recognized  each 
other. 

"  I  seek  Mrs.  Paige,"  said  the  Veteran,  at  the  same  time 
fixing  on  the  broker  a  look  that  made  him  inwardly,  quail. 

"  She  does  not  now  reside  here." 

There  was  in  the  broker's  tone  a  slight  touch  of  fierce 
ness,  as  if  his  own  secret  trembling  somewhat  maddened 
him. 

"She  has  moved  then?" 

"Yes." 

"  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  inform  me  where  ? " 

"  I  cannot." 

As  the  broker  uttered  this  sententious  reply,  in  a  voice 
which  combined  a  snarl  with  a  perceptible  tone  of  defiance, 
the  Veteran  bent  upon  him  a  penetrating  gaze,  and  his 
countenance  assumed  its  expression  of  iron  sternness,  while 
the  object  of  his  gaze  cursed  himself  for  his  lack  of  self- 
command. 

"  Excuse  me  for  troubling  you,"  he  said ;  and  opening  the 
door  he  passed  out,  letting  in  the  howling  storm  again  for 
an  instant,  which  flew  through  the  hall,  and  once  more 
sported  with  the  broker's  dry  and  scanty  locks. 

An  hour  subsequent  to  this  scene  Prescott  Marland,  on 

6 


122       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

entering  his  boarding-house,  found  the  Veteran  awaiting 
him. 

"  General,"  he  exclaimed,  clasping  both  of  the  Veteran's 
hands  in  his  own,  "  I  fear  all  is  lost,  and  the  family  of  our 
comrade  ruined ! " 

"  Let  us  be  calm,"  said  the  Veteran,  who,  at  the  same 
time  he  experienced  the  deepest  sympathy  for  his  friend's 
distress,  could  scarcely  forbear  a  smile  at  this  impulsive  ' 
evidence  of  his  all-absorbing  interest  in  the  family  of  Allen 
Paige. 

"  Ah,  yes,  General ! "  returned  Prescott,  "  that  is  the  word, 
'  be  calm ' ;  but  with  me  it  has  been  impossible  for  many  a 
day.  Villains  that  they  are  ! "  he  cried,  releasing  the  Vet 
eran's  hands,  and  clenching  his  muscular  fists,  "  I  oould 
mash  their  accursed  heads  till  they  could  plot  no  more  ! 
Executors  !  Heaven  save  the  mark,  —  Executors  !  Exe 
cutioners  !  that 's  the  word,  and  executioners  of  the  in 
nocent  !  Worse  than  executioners  !  Eobbers !  thieves  ! 
the  foulest  of  thieves !  and  God  only  knows  whether  they 
will  not  have  been  murderers  in  reality  ! "  he  added,  while 
the  tears  started  to  his  eyes. 

"  Lieutenant,"  said  the  Veteran  with  emotion,  "  you  know 
how  I  feel  for  both  them  and  you  ;  but  feeling  alone  can  do 
but  little  good.  If  the  family  of  a  comrade  is  in  trouble, 
depend  on  my  assistance." 

"  Ah,  General !  but  you  may  have  to  do  almost  every 
thing  ! " 

"  Then  I  will  do  it," 

As  the  Veteran  uttered  these  words  with  undemonstra 
tive  firmness,  Prescott  Marland  seized  his  hand,  and  a  single 
tear  hung  for  a  moment  on  the  lashes,  and  then  dampened 
his  cheek. 

"  God  bless  you,  General ! "  he  exclaimed.     "  I  told  her 


THE   VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  123 

it  would  be  so  j "  Then  his  countenance  immediately  gave 
way  to  an  expression  of  deep  dejection.  "But,"  he  con 
tinued,  "I  fear  that  even  you  can  do  nothing  now.  O, 
why  did  you  not  come  sooner?" 

"  I  did  not  get  your  second  letter  till  four  says  ago." 

"  0,  these  mails  !  these  mails  !  Do  you  know,  General, 
that  I  felt  like  flying  back  to  the  West "  (Prescott  had  just 
returned  from  a  visit  to  the  West  when  he  called  at  the 
house  of  Mrs.  Paige  two  months  before),  "  and  seeking  you 
ahead  of  that  letter.  I  knew  it  would  be  so.  It  was  fate  ! " 

"  Do  not  use  that  word,"  said  the  Veteran,  gently.  "  Say, 
rather,  Providence.  He  who  ascribes  the  events  of  life  to 
fate  has  not  the  strength  to  work  with  which  he  possesses 
who  ascribes  them  to  Providence.  As  soon  as  I  received 
your  letter,  informing  me  of  the  imminent  danger  to  which 
this  family  was  exposed  by  the  speedy  action  of  the  execu 
tors,  I  immediately  made  my  arrangements  and  started  for 
New  York.  I  arrived  here  this  afternoon,  and  at  once 
called  to  see  you.  Not  finding  you  in,  I  proceeded  to  West 
Twenty-Seventh  Street,  and  there  learned  sufficient  to  con 
firm  my  worst  fears." 

"  Yes,  instead  of  the  happy  family  of  our  dead  comrade, 
you  found  the  accursed  uncle  !  " 

"  I  presumed  it  was  Colonel  Paige's  brother." 

"  In  the  name  of  Heaven  !  call  him  the  ^//"-brother  — 
or  the  step-brother  —  that 's  even  better  —  but  don't,  don't 
call  this  unmitigated  scoundrel  Allen  Paige's  brother ! " 

An  almost  imperceptible  smile  flitted  across  the  stern 
face  of  the  Veteran. 

"  I  presume  it  was  this  step-brother  I  met  there.  It  was 
the  same  face  I  saw  in  Colonel  Paige's  chamber." 

"  That 's  the  man,  —  a  man  with  a  dark,  piratical  look, 
that  showed  his  teeth,  and  had  a  bald  head,  ai>d  whiskers 


124       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

cut  in  this  way  ?". responded  Prescott,  at  the  same  time 
putting  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  each  hand  to  either 
corner  of  his  mouth,  and  bringing  them  down  with  a  quick 
jerk. 

"  The  same.     I  judged  he  lived  there." 

"  Yes,  and  there  is  where  the  refinement  of  his  devilish 
spirit  appears.  In  my  letter  I  wrote  you  that  this  Garvin 
and  a  man  whom  I  believe  to  be  only  his  miserable  tool  —  " 

"  Jonas  Cringar  ?  " 

"  That 's  the  man  !  —  a  man  that  looks  as  if  the  crack  of 
doom  was  continually  sounding  in  his  ears  !  —  a  wretched- 
looking  man,  who  goes  about  after  Garvin  as  if  this  black 
schemer  had  a  rope  around  his  neck !  Well,  as  I  was  say 
ing  in  my  letter,  I  told  you  that  these  men  were  preparing 
to  sell  off  all  property  of  the  estate  immediately,  and,  un 
less  they  were  soon  headed  off,  they  would  have  Mrs.  Paige, 
Emma,  and  the  children  turned  out  of  doors." 

"Yes;  and,  Prescott,  you  cannot  imagine  my  feelings 
when  I  read  this  information  in  a  letter  I  should  have  re 
ceived  nearly  a  month  before." 

As  the  Veteran  uttered  this,  he  displayed  more  feeling 
than  had  heretofore  appeared  on  his  countenance. 

"  I  think  I  can  imagine  your  feelings,  General.  Well, 
you  did  not  appear ;  they  went  at  it,  and  have  done  their 
damnable  work  ! " 

"  And  you  could  do  nothing  ?  " 

"  Nothing.  That  Garvin  is  too  deep  for  me.  Villany  is 
his  trade  ;  and  commerce,  finances,  and  law  are  right  under 
his  hands,  —  and  such  hands !  —  did  you  ever  notice  them  ?" 

"I  have  only  seen  him  twice,  and  his  hand  I  did  not 
observe,"  replied  the  Veteran,  his  features  again  relaxing. 

"A  hand  that  looks  as  if  it  were  made  up  of  five  bloated, 
broken-backed  lizards  and  a  flattened  toad.  Well,  every- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       125 

thing  is  under  his  ugly  hands.  He,  with  Cringar,  filed  the 
inventories,  and  got  out  the  license  to  sell ;  and  the  more 
I  tried  to  look  into  it  the  more  I  was  afraid  to  do  it,  for 
fear  of  tipping  over  the  dish ;  and  as  I  expected  you  on 
every  day, — for  you  know  you  told  me,  when  you  left,  you 
should  undoubtedly  be  back  here  last  month,  even  without 
the  incentive  of  my  letter,  —  I  held  off  till  it  was  too 
late." 

"And  all  is  gone?" 

"  All !  everything !  Turned  out  of  that  home,  in  which 
they  had  lived  so  many  years,  and  which  the  memory  of 
Mr.  Paige  —  their  husband  and  father,  and  our  comrade  — 
made  so  dear  to  them !  And  with  a  devilish  refinement  of 
cruelty  Garvin  bid  off  the  house  and  all  that  was  in  it, 
affirming,  with  tears  in  his  crocodile  eyes,  that  he  could  n't 
endure  to  see  the  house  which  his  lamented  brother's  taste 
had  made  so  attractive  pass  into  the  hands  of  a  stranger ! 
And  there  he  lives,  the  sneaking  hound  ! " 

"  And  do  you  feel  certain  still  that  there  is  fraud  in  the 
case?" 

"  I  would  be  willing  to  swear  to  it.  Mrs.  Paige  tells  me 
that  her  husband  trusted  her  in  all  things,  and  that,  if  such 
a  state  of  affairs  had  existed  in  his  business,  he  never 
would  have  concealed  it  from  her.  To  assert  it  to  be 
otherwise  is  to  assert  that  he  deceived  her  in  the  most 
cruel  manner,  and  that  this  noble  patriot  was  guilty  of  a 
gross  falsehood." 

"Are  there  no  friends  that  would  help  her,  —  friends 
who  knew  him  well,  and  would  credit  her  statements  ? " 

"  None.  General,  after  you  have  lived  in  New  York  a 
few  years  you  will  realize  that  business  men  here  have  no 
time  to  attend  to  other  people's  affairs.  And  even  if  there 
were,  there  seems  to  be  no  one  who  is  not  easily  convinced 


126  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY. 

by  these  cunning  executors  that  Allen  Paige  followed  in 
the  track  of  scores  of  merchants,  who  could  lay  claim  to 
cooler  heads  than  he  was  known  to  possess.  I  tell  you, 
General,  New  York  has,  of  late,  been  one  vast  caldron  of 
financial  whirlpools ;  and  like  those  rotary  gulfs  that  sud 
denly  spring  to  the  surface  of  the  caldron  below  Niagara 
Bridge  and  suck  everything  down  within  their  reach,  so 
have  these  speculative  whirlpools  ingulfed,  one  after  an 
other,  many  who  have  stood  among  the  highest  in  this 
city.  No,  Mrs.  Paige  can  depend  on  no  one  here.  You 
must  bear  in  mind  that  both  Garvin  and  Cringar  stand 
high  before  the  world ;  and  there  is  not  one  to  be  found 
so  unselfish  as  to  venture  to  unmask  them,  even  if  he  be 
lieved  they  were  rascals ;  especially  as  they  have  had  every 
thing  all  their  own  way,  and  have  baked  up  the  whole 
business  in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  next  to  impossible  to 
discover  a  flaw." 

"  I  see  how  the  matter  stands,"  uttered  the  Veteran, 
bending  his  head  in  deep  thought. 

"And  they  are  driven  from  their  home!"  exclaimed 
Prescott,  with  a  voice  in  which  the  passions  of  rage  and 
grief  were  mingled. 

The  Veteran  did  not  seem  to  hear  this  outburst.  His 
eyes  still  remained  fixed  to  the  floor  in  deep  meditation. 

Marland,  struck  by  his  appearance,  remained  silent  also, 
and  observed  him  with  anxious  interest. 

In  the  mean  while  the  storm  was  whistling  and  mourn 
ing  without ;  and  presently  the  thoughts  of  the  young 
lover  reverted  back  to  the  time  when  he  stood  before  the 
sketch  in  Mrs.  Paige's  drawing-room,  thinking  of  her  who 
then  seemed  in  the  midst  of  opulence,  while  the  silence 
was  only  broken  by  the  distant  rumbling  of  the  busy  city. 
As  his  mind  returned  to  the  present,  with  the  stern  face 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.      '127 

of  the  Veteran  bent  in  thought  before  him  in  the  contem 
plation  of  the  situation,  which  involved  the  picture  of  this 
loved  one  driven  like  a  wanderer  from  that  opulent  and 
happy  home,  while  instead  of  the  soothing  sounds  of  dis 
tant  vehicles  his  ears  were  filled  with  the  shrieks  and 
howls  of  the  driving  storm,  his  heart  threatened  to  give 
way  to  its  powerful  but  pent-up  emotions. 

He  again  watched  the  countenance  of  Thorbolt  with 
anxious  attention. 

At  length  he  perceived  the  strong  muscles  of  the  Vet 
eran's  cheeks  —  those  muscles  which  seem  only  to  respond 
to  the  action  of  a  conquering  will  —  begin  to  articulate 
themselves,  like  some  commanding  face  of  the  great  mas 
ters;  while  on  the  brow  there  appeared  rather  a  general 
air  of  awakened  irresistible  power  than  a  frown  of  emo 
tional  resolution. 

This  look,  as  Prescott  gazed,  seemed  to  grow  for  a  space, 
until  even  he,  who  had  seen  Thorbolt  in  some  of  his 
grandest  moments,  thought  he  never  could  have  conceived 
of  a  mortal  being  displaying  in  his  expression  such  an  air 
of  invincible  strength. 

Suddenly  this  remarkable  man,  whose  face  now  seemed 
fixed  in  a  cast  of  iron,  rose  to  his  feet ;  and  bending  his 
stern  gray  eye  on  the  young  lieutenant,  he  spoke  in  a  tone 
so  deep  and  penetrating  that  his  listener,  whose  mind  was 
somewhat  overwrought,  instinctively  started  back  in  his 
chair. 

"  Prescott,"  he  said,  "  I  see  my  duty  to  the  end.  I  am 
convinced  of  the  foulness  of  this  business.  So  be  that  the 
Lord  gives  me  his  assistance,  I  pledge  you  I  will  work  till 
the  question  of  villany  or  no  villany  is  solved.  The  com 
rade  who  has  gone  above,"  he  -continued,  pointing  upwards, 
"  shall  not,  I  trust,  have  reason  to  complain  of  lack  of  effort 


128       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

on  the  part  of  comrades  left  by  Heaven  to  perform  that 
work,  which  it  seems  those  who  went  not  to  the  war  are 
scarcely  expected  to  attend  to." 

Prescott  sprang  from  his  chair,  and  seizing  his  comrade's 
hand,  pressed  it  in  silence. 

The  Veteran  then  took  his  departure. 


CHAPTEE    XVI. 

"T^TEAB,  an  old  cobbler's  shop  in  Vandanl  Street  stands  a 
-L  i  brick  house,  which,  though  not  in  a  state  of  dilapida 
tion,  exhibits  the 'weather-beaten  signs  of  age. 

The  apartments  on  the  third  floor  of  this  house  have  not 
the  unsightly  aspect  of  the  room  in  which  the  family  of  the 
soldier,  Joseph  Deering,  were  presented  to  the  reader.  The 
appearance  is,  however,  humble,  and  indicates  a  certain  de 
gree  of  want.  An  evidence  there  is  of  a  struggle  with  the 
inexorable  demands  and  necessities  of  life. 

Here  live  now  the  family  of  the  soldier,  Allen  Paige. 

These  apartments  consist  of  a  kitchen  and  dining-room 
combined,  two  chambers,  and  a  small  bedroom. 

Driven  from  their  home  by  the  implacable  vengeance  of 
the  broker,  they  have  fled  to  this  uninviting  precinct  of  the 
ever-changing  city  of  New  York,  to  struggle  with  the  situ 
ation  into  which  they  have  been  precipitated. 

Sorrow  has  succeeded  sorrow.  Scarcely  have  they  begun 
to  recover  from  the  profound  grief  into  which  they  were 
thrown  by  the  sentence  of  exile  pronounced  upon  them  by 
the  unrelenting  voice  of  Daniel  Garvin,  when  bereavement 
again  threatens  them  through  the  dangerous  illness  of  their 
little  boy  Albert. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       129 

His  overwrought  brain  had  yielded  to  the  mental  anguish 
which,  young  as  he  was,  he  experienced  on  account  of  the 
treatment  his  beloved  mother  had  undergone  from  the 
heartless  and  unnatural  uncle. 

An  overwrought  brain ! 

This  unfortunate  boy's  case  impels  us  to  a  brief  digres 
sion,  which  we  make  with  the  conviction  that  the  subject 
glanced  at  by  us  concerns,  to  an  important  degree,  the  fu 
ture  welfare  of  our  nation  to  which  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic  is  so  ardently  devoted ;  for  that  which  vitally 
concerns  the  intellectual  and  moral  welfare  of  our  children 
concerns  the  country  in  the  coming  generation. 

Albert  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  pernicious  system,  ex 
isting  in  various  forms  throughout  our  schools,  of  forcing 
the  intellect  by  means  of  extraneous  incentives.  All  in 
centives,  involving  prizes  and  the  like;  and  which  inev 
itably  result  in  invidious  comparisons,  are  antagonistic  to 
healthy  intellectual  and  moral  development.  And  while 
they  may  seem,  in  special  cases,  to  spur  on  the  object  of 
their  influence  to  extraordinary  efforts,  they  fail  in  a  very 
signal  manner  to  accomplish  the  good  it  is  their  professed 
purpose  to  attain. 

No  incentive  can  be  depended  upon  for  the  greatest 
number  which  is  not  founded  in  broad  and  unselfish  prin 
ciples.  A  few  may  be  caught  up  in  the  whirl  of  an  un 
healthily  aroused  emulation,  but  the  remainder  look  on, 
first  with  juvenile  contempt,  then  with  a  blighting  apathy, 
which  gathers  influence  over  the  mind  it  seizes  in  proportion 
as  a  morbid  ambition  urges  on  those  other  tender  minds, 
whose  love  of  study  has  become  transformed  into  a  feverish 
desire  for  the  coveted  prize.  And  we  regret  to  say  that  the 
teacher  does  not  always  escape  the  insidious  influence  of 
these  selfish  principles  of  action. 

6*  i 


130       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Pure  patriotism  was  the  great  power  that  annihilated  the 
Rebellion.  The  selfish  ambition  for  prizes  (in  which  we  in 
clude  high  military  position)  was  the  Rebellion's  greatest 
ally  —  perhaps  not  excluding  even  copperheadism  —  which 
this  pure  patriotism  had  to  contend  against.  It  culminated 
in  defeat  after  defeat,  tillf  the  strong  hand  of  General 
Grant  brought  it  into  subjection.  And  to  all  observing  men 
this  important  victory  of  the  great  commander  presaged  all 
future  victories.  By  all  means,  let  the  efficient  be  placed  in 
responsible  positions,  but  not  for  the  purpose  of  feeding 
their  vanity. 

An  impressive  manifestation,  in  the  late  war,  of  the 
truth  we  would  enforce  was  the  manner  in  which  the  sol 
dier  would,  on  sight  of  his  country's  flag,  forget  all  prom 
ised  honors,  and,  inspired  by  the  principles  of  pure  patriot 
ism,  implanted  silently  and  unconsciously  in  his  breast,  and 
led  by  that  all-potent  emblem,  rush  on  into  the  cannon's 
mouth  to  die ;  while,  perchance,  the  commanding  officer  of 
his  division  gazed  on  the  field  from  the  rear,  gnawed  by 
disappointed  ambition;  and  secretly  exulting  over  the  dread 
ful  sacrifice  offered  up  before  his  unquiet  eye,  because  he 
knew 'it  was  hopeless,  and  likely  to  defeat  the  general  in 
command,  whom  possibly  he  looked  upon  as  an  arrogant 
upstart,  occupying  the  place  with  which  he  himself  should 
have  been  honored.  "While  the  statement  may  be  severe,  it 
yet  seems  but  just,  to  remark  that  this  malign  spirit  was  but 
a  legitimate  outshoot  from  those  motives  with  which  the 
young  are  impelled  on  to  unnatural  and  demoralizing  efforts. 
And  we  trust  that  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Republic,  from 
which  we  expect  so  much  in  behalf  of  our  country's  future 
welfare,  will  never  be  compromised  in  its  workings  by  that 
selfish  ambition  which  lusts  for  personal  aggrandizement  at 
the  expense  of  the  common  good. 


THE   VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  131 

The  hypothesis,  that  the  excitement  of  selfishness  is  the 
great  aid  to  the  attainment  of  lasting  good,  will  undoubt 
edly  be  acknowledged  a  manifest  absurdity  by  all.  Such, 
however,  is  the  basis  on  which  the  pernicious  system  re 
ferred  to  is  founded.  Forgetfulness  of  self,  and  single- 
minded  devotion  to  duty  and  truth,  are  the  principles  on 
which  this  vast  nation,  with  its  future  conflicting  interests, 
must  rest  its  great  hope. 

But  it  is  a  lamentable  truth,  that  demoralization  is  not 
the  only  result  of  unnatural  incentive  in  connection  with 
.our  schools.*  Prostration,  sickness,  and  death  are  of  fre 
quent  occurrence,  bearing  from  the  sight  of  an  expectant 
world  many  a  bright  young  intellect,  that  might,  under 
proper  influence,  have  remained  to  develop  into  powerful 
minds,  fitted  for  the  great  work  of  life. 

The  white  and  blue  ribbons,  associated  with  the  prizes 
that  are  held  up  before  the  children  of  many  schools  as 
the  bait  is  held  before  cattle  to  be  gathered  for  the  sham 
bles,  are  symbols,  one  of  the  gravestones  which  mark 
the  last  resting-place  of  many  a  tender  form  that  has  yielded 
to  an  over- wrought,  undeveloped  mind,  and  the  other  of 
the  sky,  to  which  the  bereaved  parents  gaze  as  they  con 
template  the  premature  death  of  their  promising  children. 

As  we  stated  in  a  former  chapter,  Albert,  who  was  but'' 
eleven  years  old,  was  of  precocious  mind,  and  even  at  that 
early  age  stood  at  the  head  of  his  school.  We  spoke  of  it 
then  in  a  manner  that  would  seem  to  indicate  pride  in  the 
statement.  If  so,  we  made  a  serious  mistake.  Eather 
should  a  sentiment  of  fear  have  pervaded  that  statement.  It 
would  have  been  confirmed  by  the  results.  This  little  boy,' 

*  "We  congratulate  Boston  on  the  final  abolishment  of  the  prize  system 
in  its  grammar  schools,  due,  in  a  great  degree,  to  the  earnest  and  persist 
ent  efforts  of  the  Superintendent. 


132  1-IE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

now  rendered  doubly  precious  to  a  widowed  mother,  driven 
in  a  day  from  affluence  to  want,  at  the  same  time  that  her 
departed  husband's  good  name  was  covered  with  obloquy, 
this  precious  boy  had  been  brought  down  to  a  bed  of  sick 
ness  and  impending  death  by  the  unnatural  tension  brought 
to  bear  on  his  brain,  through  the  pernicious  practice  we 
have  spoken  of. 

It  is  due  Mrs.  Paige  to  remark  that  she  had  admonished 
this  ambitious  child  against  overworking  himself ;  but  often, 
when  every  other  eye  in  the  house  was  closed  in  slumber, 
he  could  have  been  seen  sitting  up  in  his  bed  in  the  old 
home,  studying  by  the  gas-light  near  him. 

It  was  through  this  means  that  the  boy  had  been 
brought  to  a  condition  which  prepared  the  way  for  the 
wickedness  of  his  uncle  to  finally  prostrate  him  on  a  bed 
of  sickness. 

At  first,  seized  by  what  appeared  to  be  a  simple  cold, 
.Albert  is  now  threatened  with  death  from  brain-fever.  Mrs. 
Paige  sits  by  the  side  of  the  bed,  nearly  worn  down  with 
her  distress  and  anxiety,  moistening  her  palm  with  cooling 
water,  and  then  passing  it  gently  over  her  boy's  forehead. 
No  one  else  is  in  the  room.  Emma  is  away,  and  Alice  is 
preparing  supper  in  the  kitchen. 

**  It  is  the  same  hour  in  which  the  Veteran  appeared  in 
his  sleet-covered  garments  at  the  door  of  that  mansion 
on  which  the  mother's  mind  now  so  often  and  so  sadly 
dwells.  The  storm,  which  has  seemed  so  fit  an  accom 
paniment  to  the  scene  that  occurred  between  the  two 
remarkable  men  who  represent  the  two  opposing  forces  of 
our  story,  and  which  had  shrieked  into  the  ears  of  Prescott 
Marland  as  he  contemplated  the  silent  figure  of  the  ab 
sorbed  Thorbolt,  sweeps  past  the  window  of  this  sick- 
chamber  with  wild  and  dismal  sound. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  133 

Albert,  who  had  been  lying  with  closed  eyes,  opened 
them  and  cast  upon  his  mother  a  look  which,  though  laden 
with  the  languor  of  sickness,  conveyed  an  unutterable  ex 
pression  of  filial  love  and  gratitude.  He  then  closed  them 
again. 

"  Do  you  feel  better,  my  child  ? "  asked  Mrs.  Paige,  bend 
ing  over  him. 

Albert  did  not  answer. 

She  repeated  the  question,  but  Albert  did  not  speak. 

All  at  once  a  scowl  came  over  his  forehead,  and  he  began 
to  mutter  incoherently. 

The  mother  started  from  her  chair  in  dismay. 

Ah  !  the  difference  between  the  unconsciousness  of  the 
father,  dying  from  a  wound  received  in  the  defence  of  his 
country,  and  this  dread  symptom  of  a  terrible  fever ! 

She  raised  her  clasped  hands  to  heaven.  Her  eyes, 
which  were  uplifted,  yielded  to  an  overwhelming  emotion, 
and  the  tears  of  agony  poured  down  her  care-worn  cheeks. 

"  0  Father  in  Heaven ! "  she  cried,  "  spare  him !  spare 
my  boy ! " 

Then  she  again  bent  over  her  child,  and  taking  his  head 
tenderly  in  her  arm,  she  bathed  his  face  with  her  tears. 

"  What  is  it  that  wets  my  cheek  ? "  he  exclaimed,  star 
ing  up  at  this  suffering  mother.  "  It  rains,"  he  muttered, 
as  his  lids  began  to  droop.  Suddenly  they  were  again 
raised,  and  his  face  assumed  a  look  of  terror,  and  he  cried 
in  a  sort  of  muttered  shriek :  "  Don't  turn  mother  out  in 
such  a  storm  as  this,  Uncle  Garvin !  0  Uncle,  don't !  — 
not  my  darling  mother  !  " 

This  was  more  than  the  afflicted  woman  could  endure. 
Her  head  sank  upon  the  pillow,  and,  with  her  arm  still 
around  the  neck  of  her  boy,  she  uttered  a  loud  wail  of 
grief. 


134       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Alice  heard  this  cry,  and  hastened  from  the  kitchen  in 
alarm. 

When  she  beheld  her  mother  thus  completely  g  over 
whelmed  with  woe,  and  heard  the  mutterings  of  her  wan 
dering  brother  mingled  with  the  utterances  of  this  sorrow, 
the  picture  of  her  dying  father  rose  vividly  to  her  mind. 
With  frantic  haste  she  rushed  to  the  bedside,  threw  her  arms 
about  her  mother,  and  cried,  — 

"  Mother,  dear  mother !  he  is  n't  dying !  0  mother, 
no!" 

The  mother,  without  raising  her  head,  threw  the  disen 
gaged  arm  around  the  terror-stricken  daughter,  and  pressed 
her  to  her  bosom ;  and  for  a  while  her  convulsive  sobs  and 
the  wailing  storm,  as  it  drove  the  sleet  against  the  win 
dow-panes,  was  the  only  answer. 

Once  there  fceerned  in  the  midst  of  the  tempest's  wail  a 
mocking  laugh.  We  had  nigh  said  it  could  easily  be  fancied 
the  laugh  of  the  half-brother ;  but  no,  —  even  Daniel 
Garvin  could  not  have  looked  in  upon  this  scene  unmoved, 
and  without  experiencing  an  irrepressible  pang  of  remorse. 

While  this  sad  group  were  thus  expressing  the  passions 
of  grief,  anguish,  and  terror,  another  figure  entered  the 
outer  room,  having  just  come  from  the  street. 

It  was  Emma,  who  wore  a  water-proof  which  was 
covered  with  the  sleet. 

She  had  just  returned  from  a  visit  in  answer  to  an  ad 
vertisement.  This  advertisement  was  for  a  teacher,  who 
could  give  instruction  both  in  music  and  the  French 
language.  She  had  seen  it  in  a  paper  dating  two  days 
back,  which  had  been  wrapped  around  a  bundle  that  was 
brought  to  them,  and,  fearing  to  delay  a  moment,  she  put 
on  her  things  and  went  out  into  the  storm  to  respond  to 
it ;  but  her  errand  was  fruitless,  —  it  had  been  answered 
the  day  before,  and  an  engagement  made. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  135 

As  she  entered  this  outer  room  her  countenance  bore 
evidence  of  a  mental  struggle  just  passed,  which  had 
evidently  yielded  to  a  determination  to  be  cheerful.  Look 
ing  out  from  her  water-proof  hood  was  a  face  bearing 
testimony  to  its  contact  with  the  storm,  but  lit  by  an 
encouraging  smile. 

Her  attention  was  first  attracted  to  a  cake  which  was 
burning  in  the  oven.  She  at  once  hastened' to  take  it  out, 
wondering  what  could  have  happened  to  Alice,  who  usually 
performed  her  household  duties  with  so  much  faithfulness 
and  care. 

Then,  in  the  midst  of  the  noise  of  the  elements  without, 
she  heard  for  the  first  time  the  sounds  of  grief  in  the  sick- 
chamber. 

Hastening  to  the  door,  she  looked  in  and  beheld  the 
mournful  group.  There  lay  the  mother  as  she  had  fallen  on 
the  side  of  the  bed,  supporting  Alice  ih  one  arm,  and  with 
the  other  enfolding  the  neck  of  her  suffering  brother.  She 
saw  this  brother's  eyes  glazed  in  unconsciousness,  and 
heard  his  incoherent  mutterings,  with  which  were  mingled 
the  mother's  deep  and  convulsive  sobs. 

As  we  have  seen,  Emma's  nature  was  strong,  but  it  had 
now  nearly  given  way.  Her  first  impulse  was  to  rush  to 
the  bedside  with  a  terror-fraught  cry,  as  Alice  had  done ; 
but  with  a  mighty  effort,  which  seemed  to  her  to  be  aided 
by  a  higher  power,  she  controlled  herself.  - 

Advancing  to  the  bedside  softly,  she.  gently  placed  her 
left  hand  under  her  mother's  head,  and  with  her  right  she 
soothed  hel-  temples.  Her  palm  was  still  cold  from  con 
tact  with  the  outer  air,  and  this,  with  the  exquisite  touch 
of  filial  tenderness,  together  with  Emma's  gentle  and  sooth 
ing  words,  began  to  produce  a  visible  effect  on  the  dis 
tracted  mother. 


136  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Alice  also,  over  whom  the  mind  of  Emma  had  always 
held  a  gentle  sway,  began  to  experience  the  quieting  in 
fluence  of  her  sister's  presence. 

And  it  would  seem  as'  if  the  boy  himself  felt  this 
sister's  soothing  influence;  for  after  having  made  a  few 
passes  over  her  mother's  forehead,  she  alternated  between 
hers  and  his,  and  in  a  few  moments  he  sank  into  a  restful 
sleep. 

After  Mrs.  Paige  had  sufficiently  recovered  her  com 
posure,  she  seated  herself  and  conversed  with  Emma  re 
garding  her  mission. 

"  You  know,  mother,"  she  said,  "  I  did  not  expect  it,  but 
I  thought  it  only  my  duty  to  try." 

Mrs.  Paige  contemplated  her  with  an  air  of  grateful 
affection. 

"  My  dear  daughter,"  she  said,  "  I  do  not  know  what  we 
should  do  if  it  were  not  for  you." 

"  Ah,  dear  mother,"  returned  this  devoted  daughter  and 
sister, "  I  would  that  I  could  do  a  hundred  times  more." 
Then  with  an  expression  of  unconscious  sadness  she 
said,  "  I  can  do  but  little.  I  would  like  to  earn  money 
enough  to  make  us  all  comfortable,  but  you  know  I  am 
only  a  woman,  and  I  cannot  get  the  pay  I  could  if  I  were 
a  man."  And  as  a  mournful  smile  made  more  touching 
her  loo^  of  sadness,  she  added,  "  I  do  not  know  but  that  I 
should  become  a  Woman's  Rights  advocate,  if  by  so  doing 
I  could  help  raise -the  wages  of  women  who  have  to  sup 
port  those  they  love,  as  I  now  wish  to  support  you." 

Mrs.  Paige's  gaze  was  now  directed  to  Emma's  neck, 
and  with  a  quick  start  she  exclaimed,  — 

"  Emma,  you  have  lost  your  pin  !  " 

Emma  instantly  placed  her  hand  over  the  spot  where 
her  mother  had  seen  the  pin  before  she  went  out,  as  if  she 
would  conceal  it. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  137 

"  It  is  gone  ! "  uttered  the  mother  in  a  voice  of  deep  con 
cern.  "  I  fear  you  have  indeed  lost  it ! " 

This  pin  had  been  a  gift  from  the  father. 

Emma  now  produced  a  package,  and  hastily  untying  it, 
exposed  to  view  various  little  dainties  so  welcome  to  the 
sick. 

"  You  know  the  doctor  said  Albert  needed  these,  and  so 
I  bought  them." 

Mrs.  Paige  cast  upon  Emma  a  quick  glance  of  pain. 

Emma  understood  it,  and  again  put  her  hand  instinc 
tively  to  her  neck. 

"  It  is  n't  sold,  dear  mother.     I  am  to  redeem  it." 

She  had  pawned  it. 

The  mother  rose  in  silence,  and  approaching  Emma, 
placed  her  hand  upon  her  head,  and  kissed  her  on  her 
brow.  Then  with  a  hastening  but  feeble  step  she  passed 
from  the  chamber  into  the  small  bedroom,  where  little 
Dorrit  had  all  this  time  been  asleep,  the  tears  starting 
down  her  cheeks  as  she  closed  the  door. 

At  the  same  moment  a  bold  rap  sounded  at  the  kitchen 
door. 

Alice  answered  the  summons,  and  Prescott  Marland 
entered. 


CHAPTEE    XVII. 

EMMA,   who   had    been   profoundly   affected  by  her 
mother's  manner,  heard  Prescott's  voice  in  greeting, 
and    confusion   immediately   displaj^ed    itself.      The   pin, 
which  had  been  the  cause  of  the  scene  he  had  so  nearly 
interrupted,  seemed  at  this  instant  to  have  left  a  space  at 


138       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

her  neck  so  perceptible,  that  she  felt  certain  it  would  be 
observed  by  their  visitor;  and  like  one  excited  by  the 
consciousness  of  guilt,  she,  poor  girl !  could  not  help  fancy 
ing  him  at  once  divining  the  reason. 

It  were  easy  to  say  she  should  not  feel  ashamed,  but,  on 
the  other  hand,  should  be  sustained  by  a  consciousness  of 
duty  nobly  performed.  The  necessities  consequent  on  a 
change  of  situation  from  affluence  to  privation,  however,  do 
not  always  succeed  in  compelling  at  once  the  instinctive 
and  involuntary  emotions  to  meet  their  inexorable  demands. 
Perhaps  this  is  one  of  .the  most  touching  features  of  those 
trials  which  follow  in  the  wake  of  misfortune.  A  strong 
will  and  a  resigned  spirit  will  sustain  the  mind  and  soul 
under  the  most  adverse  circumstances,  and  the  demeanor 
ordinarily  reveal  but  little  of  the  inward  trial ;  but  the  in 
voluntary  emotions  of  the  heart  ever  and  anon  arise  to 
remind  the  sufferer  of  what  has  been  in  a  manner  that 
rends  and  pierces. 

It  were  vain,  also,  to  say  to  this  abashed  girl,  with  the 
supposed  taint  of  the  pawn-shop  still  on  her  skirts  :  "  Pres- 
cott  Marland  is  a  young  man  of  a  high  and  generous 
nature,  and  he  will  respect  you  tenfold  more  when  he  shall 
come  to  know  of  this  thing  you  have  done.  He  will  pro 
foundly  appreciate  your  self-sacrifice  and  the  nobility  of 
your  spirit." 

All  this  will  be  well  afterwards,  but  at  just  this  time  her 
heart  experiences  a  sinking  sensation,  and  her  cheeks  are 
tinged  with  a  slight  blush  of  shame. 

She  casts  about  for  another  pin  to  take  its  place ;  but 
there  is  no  time  to  carry  the  desires  of  her  mind  into 
execution,  for  Prescott,  accompanied  by  Alice,  is  on  the 

J& 

threshold. 

It  is  a  face  that  would  carry  cheerfulness  into  the  dun- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  139 

geon  itself ;  and  with  it  a  form  that  looks  as  if  its  great 
delight  is  to  be  out  in  such  a  storm  as  is  raging  without, 
and  buffet  with  the  winds. 

In  an  instant  Emma's  distress  on  account  of  the  pin 
was  gone.  She  now  only  saw  this  noble  specimen  of 
young  manhood  coming  to  greet  her,  —  coming  with  his 
great  heart  and  courageous  nature,  to  shed,  in  that  chamber 
of  sickness  and  privation,  an  atmosphere  of  health  and 
hope. 

0,  how  strong  her  impulse  to  throw  herself  into  his  arms, 
and  claim  that  protection  which  had  been  denied  by  the 
unnatural  uncle ! 

BROTHER ! 

SISTER  ! 

Thus  they  entitled  each  other,  and  they -did  so  in  full 
sincerity.  But  would  William  Garvin  have  so  announced 
it,  had  he  flown  by  on  the  gale,  and  looked  through  the 
window  at  the  moment  Prescott  stood  upon  that  threshold  ? 
It  is  not  probable. 

And  yet  this  spoken  relation  of  brother  and  sister  is  the 
result,  not  of  self-deception,  but  of  the  most  manly  deli 
cacy;  for  it  is  evident  that  if  Prescott  should  press  his 
suit,  the  "  brother  "  and  "  sister  "  would  disappear  as  mist 
before  the  sun.  But  he  realizes  that,  under  the  peculiar 
circumstances,  much  that  may  be  done  on  his  part  will, 
from  an  accepted  brother,  do  less  violence  to  a  natural 
sensitiveness  than  if  done  by  an  accepted  lover. 

He  has  no^w  come  from  his  interview  with  the  Veteran, 
and  a  look  of  hope  lights  up  his  handsome  features. 

His  air  is  contagious,  and  through  Emma's  soul  there 
darts  an  indefinable  emotion  of  kindred  hope. 

"  Emma,"  he  said,  advancing  and  taking  her  hand,  "  Gen 
eral  Hammond  arrived  from  the  West  to-dlay." 


140       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  AEMY. 

He  spoke  somewhat  loudly,  and  Emma,  at  the  same  time 
that  a  gleam  of  a  yet  more  definable  hope  overspread  her 
features,  placed  her  finger  to  her  lips,  and  pointed  to  the 
now  deeply  slumbering  boy. 

Prescott  lowered  his  tone,  and  for  a  moment  gazed  upon 
Emma's  face  in  silence,  as  he  perceived  the  traces  of  the 
trial  to  which  her  spirit  had  been  that  day  subjected.  She 
understood  this  gaze,  and  her  eyes  were  bedewed  with 
tears. 

The  ardent  but  high-souled  Marland  could  scarcely  re 
frain  from  at  once  embracing  her  in  his  strong,  protecting 
arms,  and  giving  vent  to  the  full  expression  of  his  all- 
absorbing  love.  But  he  commanded  himself,  and  leading 
her  to  a  chair  with  the  careful  tenderness  of  a  devoted 
elder  brother,  he  narrated  to  her  th*e  interview  which  had 
just  occurred  between  himself  and  the  Veteran. 

Emma,  on  her  part,  told  him  of  the  dangerous  turn 
which  Albert's  illness  had  taken. 

She  was  still  speaking  when  Mrs.  Paige  came  from  the 
bedroom,  her  swollen  eyes  telling  of  the  anguish  through 
which  she  had  passed.  As  Prescott  rose  and  greeted  her 
the  sick  boy  began  to  show  signs  of  restlessness. 

The  mother  looked  up  at  a  watch  which  was  hanging  by 
the  bed. 

This  watch  was  the  last  gift  of  her  husband,  to  com 
memorate  the  twentieth  anniversary  of  their  wedding-day. 
She  had  up  to  the  present  moment  held  this  gift,  with  oth 
ers,  as  mementos  so  sacred,  that  she  could  ^entertain  no 
thought  of  in  any  way  disposing  of  them ;  but  in  that  little 
room  she  had  yielded,  after  a  severe  but  noble  struggle; 
and  she  had  come  forth  resolved  to  follow  the  example  of 
her  devoted  daughter,  whose  precious  token  of  her  father 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  pawnbroker,  and  devote  all  gifts, 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       141 

mementos,  everything  not  absolutely  essential  to  the  sus 
tenance  of  life,  to  the  support  of  that  family  which  should 
never  beg  of  living  man,  so  long  as  they  possessed  one  ob 
ject  of  the  least  possible  value  not  absolutely  necessary  to 
keep  the  soul  and  body  together. 

But  as  she  now  looked  at  this  watch,  she  started  and 
exclaimed  in  a  suppressed  voice,  — 

"The  time  has  passed  when  the  medicine  should  be 
given  him  ! "  And  hastening  to  the  mantel-piece,  she  took 
the  medicine  and  spoon,  and  approached  the  bedside. 

Prescott  extended  his  hand. 

"  Don't  awake  him,  I  beg  of  you.  It  may  be  his  death. 
No  medicine  can  take  the  place  of  sleep,  in  such  a  case  as 
this.  I  once  sat  up  with  a  little  nephew  of  mine,  who 
had  been  given  over  by  the  doctors.  He  was  suffering 
from  brain-fever,  and  was  unconscious.  For  several  days 
and  nights  he  seemed  to  have  scarcely  slept.  As  his  moth 
er  left  me  with  him  on  this  night,  which  all  expected  to  be 
his  last,  she  opened  a  bureau  drawer  and  showed  me  a 
plaid  piece  of  goods,  and,  with  tears  in  her  eyes,  she  re 
peated  those  lines,  suggested  by  an  old  saying,  — 

*  Death  often  stays  his  hand 

When  friends  prepare  the  shroud, 
And  joy  returns  to  saddened  hearts 
When  life  dispels  the  cloud.' 

It  was  the  last  resort  of  despair,  —  a  superstitious  little  act, 
as  you  probably  know,  which  many  sorrowing  ones  indulge 
in,  springing  from  hearts  that  would  make  the  last  effort 
in  their  power  to  drive  back  the  dreaded  messenger.  When 
I  was  left  alone  with  my  charge  I  at  once  commenced 
gently  passing  my  hand  down  from  his  knees  to  the  extrem 
ities  of  his  feet,  which  I  drew  out  soothingly  as  I  relin 
quished  them  to  recommence  at  the  knee.  When  I  began, 


142       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

his  head  was  tossing  from  side  to  side  in  the  most  painful 
restlessness ;  but  soon  it  settled  into  the  pillow,  and  he 
began  to  slumber.  When  at  different  times  he  would  show 
signs  of  awakening  from  this  slumber,  I  would  assist  the 
manipulations  on  his  feet  by  a  low  humming  sound  like  a 
top  or  a  humblebee." 

"  And  what  was  the  result  ? "  asked  Emma,  eagerly. 

"  The  result  was,  I  kept  him  asleep  nine  hours ;  and 
though  I  ignored  the  hours  I  was  instructed  to  give  him 
medicine,  the  doctors,  the  next  morning,  announced  a  re 
markable  change  for  the  better." 

"  And  did  he  wear  the  plaid  ? " 

"  He  did ;  and  is  now  a  strong  boy  who  wears  sack  and 
waistcoat." 

The  mother  had  listened  with  absorbed  attention,  while 
Emma  hung  on  every  word,  as  if  this  story,  from  the  lips 
of  him  whom  she  secretly  idolized  and  believed  capable 
of  accomplishing  almost  anything  in  the  power  of  man, 
was  an  account  of  her  own  brother's  redemption  from 
death. 

"  I  will  show  you,"  continued  Prescott ;  and  approaching 
the  invalid,  who  now  moved  restlessly  as  if  about  to  awake, 
he  placed  his  hand  under  the  quilt,  and  stroked  his  feet  as 
he  had  described,  at  the  same  time  producing  the  humming 
sound  with  his  lips. 

The  effect  was  remarkable.  The  boy  almost  instantly 
settled  his  heated  cheek  in  the  pillow,  and  commenced, 
breathing  deeply.  As  Prescott  continued  his  labors  he 
breathed  more  and  more  easily,  and  his  cheek  settled  still 
deeper  into  the  pillow,  until  with  a  sigh  he  went  off  into  a 
slumber  so  gentle,  and  yet  so  profound,  that  the  mother, 
reading  the  prophecy  of  life,  took  Prescott's  disengaged 
hand  between  her  own,  and  said,  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  143 

"  It  seems  to  me  as  if  you  had  been  sent  to  us  by  Heav 
en  !  Your  friendship  and  presence  ever  seem  to  me  a 
blessing ! " 

Emma  cast  upon  Prescott  a  look  of  inexpressible  hap 
piness. 

He  remained  through  the  evening,  and  when  he  left,  the 
boy  was  still  sleeping. 


CHAPTEE    XVIII. 

AT  the  time  the  incidents  narrated  in  our  story  oc 
curred,  'the  New  York  Surrogate's  office  was  situated 
on  Park  Eow,  up  one  flight  of  stairs.  It  was  a  long  room, 
by  no  means  diminutive  in  size ;  but  its  capacity  was  far 
from  commensurate  with  the  immense  amount  of  busi 
ness  there  transacted.  The  accumulating  posthumous  docu 
ments  of  generations,  that  had  come  and  gone  in  this  great 
city  whose  numbers  had  rolled  up  like  some  vast  invading 
army,  were  overflowing  all  available  space,  and  demanded 
more  ample  accommodation.  Since  the  date  of  these  inci 
dents,  therefore,  the  office  has  been  transferred  to  its  pres 
ent  commodious  quarters ;  and  we  learn  with  satisfaction 
that  the  newly  elected  Surrogate  is  eminently  qualified  for 
the  arduous  and  increasing  responsibilities  devolving  upon 
this  office,  which  requires  in  such  a  marked  degree  that 
judgment  should  be  tempered  by  courtesy  and  consider 
ation.* 

*  This  seems  to  the  authors  a  fitting  opportunity  of  expressing  their 
obligations  to  the  Hon.  Amos  G.  Hull,  who,  through  his  legal  ability, 
courtesy,  and  honor,  rendered  them  important  favors  during  an  experience 
which  has  afforded  groundwork  for  a  considerable  portion  of  this  narra 
tive. 


144       THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

On  the  third  day  following  the  events  recorded  in  the 

preceding  pages,  Mr. ,  Surrogate's  clerk,  was,  as  usual, 

buried  in  the  midst  of  wills,  inventories,  and  clouds  of 
other  papers,  which  only  a  clerk  of  the  Surrogate's  office, 
or  Probate  Court,  can  really  appreciate. 

Men  and  women  are  seated  or  standing,  awaiting  their 
turn  to  be  heard.  They  are  mostly  persons  who,  as  execu 
tors  or  administrators,  or  recipients  of  some  deceased 
friend's  bounty,  or,  perchance,  simply  the  objects  of  his 
remembrance,  have  come  here  to  subject  this  clerk,  with 
others,  to  an  endless  series  of  questioning  and  cross-ques 
tioning,  most  of  them  without  counsel,  and  therefore  the 
more  dogmatic  and  troublesome. 

"  I  Ve  been  left  out  of  my  sister's  will ! "  says  a  sharp- 
faced,  vinegary  looking  woman,  evidently  unmarried,  as  she 
hastens  to  take  her  turn,  "  and  I  'd  like  to  know  whether 
I  Ve  got  the  law  on  my  side  or  not ! " 

"  That 's  for  your  counsel  to  answer,  madam,"  courteously 
replies  the  clerk,  turning  to  the  next  applicant. . 

"  But  don't  you  give  full  information  here,  —  all  about 
wills,  and  who  's  got  their  rights,  and  who  has  n't  ?  "  per 
sists  the  incorrigible  applicant. 

"  Let  me  advise  you,  madam,"  says  the  clerk  somewhat 
testily,  "if  you  have  been  left  out  of  a  will  where  you. 
ought  to  have  been  in  it,  to  apply  at  once  to  counsel.  We 
can  do  nothing  for  you  here." 

The  questioner  stares  at  the  speaker  a  moment,  who  pre 
pares  to  listen  to  the  next  in  turn,  and  seeing  persistence 
is  no  longer  of  avail,  she  retires  mumbling. 

The  next  applicant,  behind  whom  the  clerk  observed 
a  man  of  remarkable  height,  with  a  deep  scar  on  his 

cheek,  was  evidently  a  young  man  with  whom  Mr. 

was  acquainted. 


THE   VETERAN   OF   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  145 

The  reader  is  also  acquainted  with  him,  somewhat,  for  it 
is  Billings,  formerly  Cringar's  dry  goods  clerk,  —  now  his 
book-keeper. 

"  How  are  you,  Billings  ? "  said  the  clerk.  "  Any  hitch 
in  your  business  ? " 

"  I  don't  call  it  a  hitch  exactly,  but  I  'm  bothered  by 
Tom  Greeder,  who  says  he  '11  come  down  on  me  if  I  don't 
pay  him  his  part  of  my  brother's  legacy  at  once.  It 's  only 
a  hundred  dollars,  anyway." 

"  What  did  you  tell  him  ? " 

"  I  told  him  I  must  have  a  chance,  as  executor,  to  turn,  and 
I  should  n't  pay  a  cent  till  I  had,  if  I  knew  what  was  law." 

"  Eight !     The  law 's  on  your  side.     Anything  else  ? " 

"  I  should  like  to  look  a  moment  at  the  records  of  the 
Paige  estate." 

"  Allen  Paige  ? " 

"Yes.     Cringar,  you  know,  is  one  of  the  executors.** 

"Yes,"  responded  the  clerk,. as  he  turned  for  the  records 
with  a  grimace.  "  Do  you  know  much  about  this  affair  ? " 
he  said  in  a  low  voice  as  he  handed  them  to>  Billings,  at 
the  same  time  casting  a  cautious  glance  around^  as  if  this 
were  an  unusual  style  of  questioning  for  him.  to  indulge  in. 

The  tall  stranger  heard  this  question,  and  slightly  inclined 
his  head. 

"  I  know  a  little  about  it,"  answered  Billings:  "  Why, 
do  you  know  anything  ? " 

The  stranger  listened  attentively. 

The  Surrogate's  clerk  cast  a  quick  glance  at  this  man. 

"  I  'm  in  no  hurry,"  uttered  the  object  of  his  scrutiny. 

Though  the  book-keeper  knew  this  vcice  very  well,  he 
did  not  turn. 

"  If  I  did,  it  would  n't  do  for  me  to  say  so,"  replied  Mr. 

,  with  a  half-laugh. 

7  j 


146  THE   VETERAN    OF   THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

"  Do  you  believe  it  is  all  right  ? "  said  Billings,  in  an 
abrupt,  cross-questioning  tone,  loud  enough  for  the  stranger 
to  hear. 

The  clerk  did  not  answer  this  question,  but  the  pene 
trating  gray  eyes  of  him  who  was  watching  read  his 
mind. 

Handing  the  papers  to  Billings,  Mr. said,  in  a 

manner  that  indicated  a  consciousness  of  having  slightly 
infringed  on  the  proprieties  of  his  office,  —  "  They  are  open 
to  your  inspection,"  and  then  turned  his  attention  to  the 
applicant  who  had  been  so  attentively  watching  him. 

The  stranger  stepped  aside. 

"  I  will  give  way  to  my  neighbor,"  he  said.  "  In  the 
mean  time,  if  you  and  this  young  gentleman  will  permit 
me,  I  would  be  pleased  to  glance  at  these  papers,  which,  if 
my  ears  caught  the  name  aright,  .concern  the  estate  of 
Allen  Paige,  who  happened  to  have  been  a  warm  friend 
of  an  acquaintance  of  mine." 

"  I  have  no  objections  to  your  looking  them  over  whatev 
er,"  said  Billings.  "  I  also  have  an  acquaintance  to  whom 
Mr.  Paige  was  a  dear  friend,  arid  therefore  we  are  well 
met." 

The  book-keeper  and  the  stranger,  whom  the  reader  has 
readily  recognized,  now  proceeded  to  examine  the  papers 
put  in  by  Cringar  and  Garvin  as  executors  of  Allen  Paige's 
estate.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  they  had  understood 
each  other  from  the  first. 

We  will  see  how  this  came  about. 

On  the  night  succeeding  his  interview  with  Prescott 
Marland,  the  Veteran  lay  awake,  revolving  in  his  mind  the 
whole  business  to  which  he  had  resolved  to  devote  him 
self,  for  the  sake  of  the  family  of  a  fallen  comrade.  •  As 
we  have  formerly  stated,  his  mind  was  of  a  high  strategic 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       147 

order.  He  could  do  nothing  without  taking  a  survey  of 
all  the  bearings  of  the  work  in  hand. 

The  following  morning  he  waited  on  Prescott. 

"  I  need  a  point  to  start  with,"  he  said,  after  he  had  ob 
tained  all  the  particulars  Prescott  could  give.  "  Perhaps 
you  can  help  me  to  it." 

"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"Communication  with  some  one  who  is  able  to  open 
Cringar  more  or  less  to  me." 

Prescott  thought. 

The  Veteran  continued :  — 

"  Cringar  is  undoubtedly  a  tool,  as  you  have  before  said. 
Garvin  is  the  scoundrel  at  heart,  and  the  leader  in  this 
business.  But  it  is  evident  that  Garvin  works  much 
through  Cringar.  I  would  work  through  Cringar  also,  — 
flank  the  one  through  the  other.  If  I  can  confound  the 
merchant,  I  have  the  broker  in  my  grasp.  If  I  may  judge 
from  what  little  I  have  seen  and  heard,  Garvin  is  a  man 
remarkably  astute  and  wary,  and  he  would  have  those 
about  him  that  could  not  be  readily  used  by  others.  I  there 
fore  must  have  some  one,  if  possible,  who  is  constantly 
about  Cringar." 

"  The  very  man  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott,  abruptly. 

"Who?" 


'.   "  Billings." 


"  Billings  ? " 

"  The  clerk  who  throttled  that  fellow  the  night  we  met 
Emma  Paige." 

"Ah,  yes.  And  a  young  man  of  much  acuteness,  I 
judge." 

"  You  're  right  there.  The  very  man !  —  the  very  man ! 
He  's  been  a  clerk  in  Cringar's  store,  and  is  now  one  of  the 
book-keepers.  Only  three  days  ago  he  told  me  it  was  no- 


148       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

torious  in  the  whole  store,  that  Cringar  was  troubled  with 
a  bad  conscience.  He  pronounces  him  the  most  miserable 
and  God-forsaken  looking  man  he  has  ever  laid  his  eyes 
on.  The  very  ghost  of  a  man,  he  calls  him,  and  an  un- 
shrived-one  at  that." 

"  I  am  well  pleased.  Between  this  book-keeper,  hard 
work,  and  Cringar's  conscience,  I  "have  hopes  of  accom 
plishing  something." 

"  Do  you  think  you  can  fix  them  ? "  cried  Prescott  in 
excitement,  as  the  picture  of  the  family,  suffering  from 
sickness  and  privation,  which  he  visited  the  day  before, 
came  to  his  mind. 

"  Be  calm,"  said  the  Veteran,  kindly.  "  I  can  promise 
nothing  more  than  work.  The  situation  in  which  we  now 
find  things  has  been  legally  as  well  as  publicly  indorsed, 
and  while  I  promise  you  that,  if  nothing  unforeseen  pre 
vents,  I  will  not  cease  working  till  I  get  to  the  bottom  of 
the  whole  business,  yet  in  what  state  I  shall  find  that  busi 
ness  remains  to  be  seen." 

"  You  are  right,"  returned  Prescott  in  a  subdued  voice,  — 
"  perfectly  right." 

"  So  let  us  to  the  work  I  would  see  this  young  book 
keeper  at  once." 

"  You  say  you  do  not  wish  to  touch  Daniel  Garvin  at 
present  ? " 

"Not  directly.     Why  ?  " 

"  Because  if  you  did,  I  think  I  know  of  one  who  would 
assist  you." 

"Who?" 

"  His  son,  William,  whom  we  met  with  his  cousin  Emma 
that  night." 

"  Why  do  you  think  so  ?  " 

"  Because  he  thinks  everything  of  the  family,  especially 
of  Emma." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  149 

The  Veteran  cast  a  penetrating  glance  into  the  counte 
nance  of  the  young  lieutenant,  but  he  observed  no  jeal 
ousy  there.  ^ 

"  That  may  be,  Prescott,"  he  said ;  "  but  he  appeared  to 
me  to  be  a  young  man  who  would  not  readily  act  against 
his  own  father.  While  it  is  evident  that  his  attachments 
are  strong,  it  is  also  evident  that  his  conscience  is  equally 
tender." 

"  You  may  be  correct.  But  still,  General,  I  'in  confident 
that  you  already  hold  a  strong  influence  over  his  mind." 

"  Ah  ;  and  how  do  you  know  this  ?  " 

"  From  his  own  talk.  He 's  just  the  person,  General,  for 
you  to  hold  with  magnetic  power.  He  's  an  artist,  with 
a  woman's  organization,  and  a  fanciful  imagination  that 
seems  to  me  decidedly  morbid.  He  says  that  picture  of 
your  appearance  in  the  street,  when  Emma's  shrieks  awoke 
him  from  unconsciousness,  and  he  beheld  her  in  the  arms 
of  the  abducting  scoundrel,  is  before  his  eyes  continually, 
by  day  and  by  night.  If  he  sits  down  to  think,  it 's  there. 
If  he  sleeps,  it 's  there.  If  he  reads,  or  listens  to  sermon  or 
lecture,  it 's  there,  —  always  right  before  him.  He  affirms 
it 's  a  vision  that  conveys  to  his  mind  a  realization  of  Ho 
mer's  description  of  Jove  in  the  midst  of  war.  And  by 
this  very  Jove  !  I  verily  believe  he  looks  on  you  as  a  sort 
of  god  incarnate  !  I  told  him-  how  you  got  your  sobriquet 
of  Thorbolt,  and  you  would  have  laughed  to  see  how  so 
berly  he  took  it.  He  looked  as  if,  to  his  mind,  you  ought 
to  have  been  christened  with  it." 

"  Pshaw !  Lieutenant ! "  uttered  the  Veteran,  not  over- 
displeased  by  this  nattering  account  of  a  young  artist's 
infatuation.  Up  to  your  old  camp  tricks,  I  see." 

"  Not  a  bit  of  it,  General.  That 's  the  way  this  young 
cousin  talks.  And  between  that  and  his  infatuation  for 
Emma  —  " 


150       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  Veteran  smiled. 

"You  think  I  ought  to  be  jealous,  I  suppose,"  uttered  the 
Lieutenant,  interrupting  himself^and  speaking  with  a  free 
dom  to  the  Veteran  in  which  he  would  have  indulged 
before  no  other  person ;  "  but  it  does  n't  take  that  course. 
On  the  contrary;  it  delights  me  to  see  it.  You  know 
what  I  would  n't  say  to  any  one  else  but  you,  that  I  think 
her  an  angel,  and  I  want  everybody  else  to  think  so. 
Now  that  her  young  cousin's  whole  soul  is  absorbed  in  her, 
and  he  looks  upon  her  as  a  very  goddtess  — ' 

"  In  that  case  (begging  Mrs.  Hammond's  pardon)  I  ought 
to  be  the  one  to  marry  her  it  seems  to  me,"  interrupted  the 
Veteran,  who  could  be  facetious  at  times. 

"  0,  because  he  makes  you  a  god,  eh ! "  rejoined  Pres- 
cott,  relishing  Thorbolt's  good-natured  sally.  "  Well,  what 
I  was  going  to  say  is  this,  that  putting  his  infatuation  for 
you  and  his  infatuation  for  his  cousin  together,  and  know 
ing  as  he  must  somewhat,  at  least,  of  his  father's  charac 
ter,  I  have  no  doubt  that  he  would  yield  to  your  influence, 
if  it  directed  him  in  work  that  should  be  of  aid  to  one  I 
know  he  idolizes." 

Ah !  the  difference  between  strength  and  weakness ! 
Prescott  is  strong, — William  is  weak.  The  one  takes 
pride  in  the  other's  love,  as  flattering  evidence  of  the  esti 
mation  in  which  the  object  of  his  own  love  is  held.  The 
other  looks  upon  his  rival's  love  as  the  iconoclast  that  shat 
ters  the  divine  image  of  his  own  fond  dreams. 

"  I  trust,"  said  the  Veteran,  "  that  I  shall  never  find  it 
necessary  to  set  him  at  work  against  his  own  father ;  though 
Heaven  only  knows,  in  such  an  affair  as  this,  what  instru 
mentalities  will  have  to  be  used  before  we  get  through 
with  it." 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  151 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE  result  of  the  interview  between  General  Hammond 
and  Prescott  Murland  was  the  immediate  introduc 
tion  of  the  former  to  the  book-keeper,  Billings. 

They  found  in  this  young  man  a  ready  and  willing  as 
sistant.  He  had  by -no  means  been  unobservant  of  all  the 
external  indications  of  remorse  on  the  part  of  his  employ 
er,  Jonas  Cringar,  and  of  the  satanic  influence  of  this 
wretched  man's  destroyer,  Daniel  Garvin.  The  broker 
came  often  into  the  store,  and  the  merchant  made  him  an 
occasional  messenger  to  Garvin's  office,  so  that  his  opportu 
nities  for  observation  were  good ;  but  he  had  detected 
nothing  beyond  what  was  revealed  by  the  general  actions 
of  the  two  men.  When,  however,  the  Veteran  cautiously 
opened  his  business  to  him  he  at  once  entered  into  the 
spirit  of  the  work ;  for  he  was  convinced  of  the  existence 
of  an  unprincipled  plot,  and  his  nature,  besides  leading 
him  into  sympathy  with  the  •  wronged,  was  calculated  to 
enjoy  the  labor  of  ferreting  out  this  evidently  dark  and 
wicked  scheme. 

The  first  documents  the  Veteran  desired  to  examine  were 
the  records  at  the  Surrogate's  office.  But  it  was  necessary 
for  him  to  so  accomplish  this  that  wind  of  his  errand 
should  not  get  to  the  ears  of  Daniel  Garvin.  What  rela 
tions  existed  between  this  deep  schemer  and  the  Surrogate's 
office  he  had  no  means  of  knowing.  That  a  direct  visit 
from  a  man  of  his  appearance  for  the  purpose  of  examin 
ing  the  records  would  excite  attention,  his  past  experience 
had  warned  him  would  be  inevitable  ;  and  yet  these  records 


152        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

he  must  see  himself,  preparatory  to  the  work  he  had  un 
dertaken. 

His  astute  mind  had  been  perplexed  by  this  part  of  the 
business,  and  up  to  the  time  of  his  introduction  to  the 
book-keeper  he  had  not  been  able  to  see  his  way  clear.  He 
was  still  turning  and  revolving  it  in  his  mind. 

As  soon  as  he  was  convinced  that  Billings  was  enlisted 
heart  and  soul  in  the  undertaking,  and  could  be  implicitly 
trusted,  he  made  known  his  perplexity  regarding  the 
records. 

"  Good  ! "  cried  the  book-keeper.  "  I  can  help  you  out 
of  that  difficulty  at  once ! " 

The  Veteran  bent  on  him  a  look  of  surprised  inquiry. 

"  I  'm  acquainted  with  Mr. ,  recording  clerk,"  said 

Billings  in  answer  to  this  look. 

"  Then  we  can  work  it ! "  exclaimed  the  Veteran  with 
an  air  of  relief  and  satisfaction. 

"  Perfectly." 

"  This  is  excellent !    We  will  proceed  at  once  to  business." 

"  I  will  obtain  the  items  for  you,  myself,  General." 

"I  thank  you,  but  I  prefer  to  see  the  records  in  person." 

"  Then  depend  on  my  hearty  assistance  here,  and  any 
where  else,  where  I  can  be  of  service." 

"  Thanks." 

The  reader  has  already  witnessed  the  manner  in  which 
the  book-keeper  kept  his  word,  up  to  the  point  where  we 
left  him  with  the  Veteran  at  the  Surrogate's  office,  examin 
ing  the  records. 

The  Veteran  was  for  a  moment  staggered.  There  was  a 
boldness  and  openness  in  the  statements  of  the  inventories 
that  he  was  hardly  prepared  for.  He  could  detect  no  ap 
pearance  of  a  trumped-up  job.  Names,  dates,  everything 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       153 

necessary  for  a  clear,  unequivocal  return  by  the  executors 
of  tjie  estate,  were  here  in  black  and  white. 

The  book-keeper,  who  understood  something  of  these 
things,  cast  a  blank  look  at  his  staggered  companion. 

"  It 's  a  hard  show,"  he  said. 

.  The  Veteran  did  not  answer,  but  studiously  examined 
the  statements. 

At  length  the  expression  of  his  face  changed  from  its 
surprise  to  a  look  of  deep  determination,  and  he  said,  — 

"  This  Garvin  is  either  not  the  rogue  we  have  taken 
him  to  be,  or  he  is  a  marvellous  expert  in  villany.  Which 
horn  of  the  dilemma  do  you  choose  ? " 

The  book-keeper  thought  a  moment  over  this  somewhat 
unexpected  question,  and  then  answered,  — 

"  The  latter." 

"  That  he  is  a  marvellous  villain  ? " 
•    "Yes." 

"  I  think  your  choice  a  good  one." 

"  It  is  yours  ?  " 

"  It  is.  This  man  is  an  able  tactician.  He  would  have 
made  his  mark  in  the  Eebel  army." 

"  But  not  in  ours  ?  " 

"  No.     His  mark  must  be  an  infamous  one." 

"  What,  General !  do  you  think  all  in  the  Eebel  army 
who  made  a  mark  made  an  infamous  one  ? " 

"  No  ;  but  it  was  a  place  for  infamous  work." 

"  I  do  not  understand  the  connection." 

"  Good  men  may  be  led  into  infamous  business,"  returned 
the  Veteran,  with  his  grave  smile. 

"  Ah  —  yes,"  ejaculated  Billings,  depressing  his  brows  in 
thought. 

"  While  very  good  men  were  engaged  in  the  Eebellion, 
very  bad  men  imparted  to  it  its  ruling  spirit." 
7* 


154       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Like  this  Garvin,"  responded  the  book-keeper,  the  de 
pression  of  his  brows  gathering  into  a  scowl. 

"Yes.  And  here  is  where  the  absurdity  of  those  men 
appears,  who,  because  there  were  some  men  in  the  Kebel- 
lion  that  were  misled,  therefore  they  are  to  be  placed  on 
an  equality,  in  history,  with  the  vast  army  of  patriots 
who  brought  them-  to  their  senses.  What  should  we  think 
of  a  youth,  who,  having  heretofore  enjoyed  a  good  charac 
ter,  is  enticed  into  a  criminal  transaction ;  and  being  par 
doned,  he  claims  as  much  credit  for  his  earnest  labors  in 
behalf  of  crime  as  can  he  whose  loyal  efforts  defeated  both 
him  and  his  accomplices  ? " 

"  Or  as  though  we  should  succeed  in  knocking  this  array 
of  figures,  presented  by  Cringar  and  Garvin,  into  a  thou 
sand  atoms,  and  put  the  rascals  in  jail,  and  then,  forsooth, 
they  cry  from  their  bars, '  We  did  nobly  !  Write  us  down 
as  criminals  devoted  to  our  cause,  and  therefore  entitled  to* 
glory  ! '  It  seems  to  me,  now  that  I  think  of  it,  quite  as 
bad  as  that." 

"  In  many  cases  it  certainly  does,"  returned  the  Veteran. 
"  But  let  us  come  back  to  Garvin  in  earnest.  As  I  re 
marked,  this  man  is  an  able  tactician,  and  with  the  position 
he  now  holds  in  this  affair,  I  am  willing  to  acknowledge 
that  it  seems  a  desperate  undertaking  to  attempt  to  drive 
him  from  his  works." 

"  For  my  part,  General,  I  confess  I  should  never  dare 
undertake  it." 

"  That  would  depend,  I  think,"  answered  the  Veteran, 
closely  studying  the  physiognomy  of  the  book-keeper. 
Then  turning  his  attention  to  the  records,  he  requested  his 
companion  to  cautiously  write  down  such  items  as  he 
should  read  off. 

Billings  took  out  his  memorandum-book,  and  holding  it 


THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.   ,     155 

so  that  no  one  behind  could  see  his  movements,  pro 
ceeded  to  do  so. 

In.  a  long  list  of  items,  prepared  with  that  sagacity  on 
which  the  unprincipled  learn  so  much  to  depend,  there 
were  entered  one  or  two  statements,  which,  from  their  im 
portant  relation  to  the  development  of  this  story,  we  will 
here  record  for  the  benefit  of  the  reader.- 

The  first  of  these  was  an  account  of  indebtedness  to 
Jonas  Cringar  for  settlement  of  note  for  $  50,000,  given  by 
Allen  Paige  to  one  Eichard  Slaycut,  in  payment  for  25,000 
shares  of  stock  in  the  Long  Eidge  Silver  and  Copper  Mining 
Company  of  Montana,  at  $  2  per  share,  said  note  bearing 
date  October  2,  1864,  to  run  six  months,  and  indorsed  by 
said  Jonas  Cringar.  The  second  was  also  indebtedness  to 
Jonas  Cringar,  for  settlement  of  note  for  $  12,000  to  Slaycut 
&  Drorblude,  in  payment  for  8,000  shares  of  stock  in 
*the  Pulverizing  Gold  Mining  Company  of  Colorado,  at 
$  1.50  per  share,  bearing  date  October  4,  1864,  to  run  four 
months,  —  indorsed  by  said  Jonas  Cringar.  The  third 
was  an  account  of  indebtedness  to  one  Timothy  Augoring, 
by  privately  protested  note  for  one  fifth  interest  in  the 
Pioneer  Oil  Well,  $  15,000,  said  note  bearing  date  October 
9,  1864. 

Besides  these  bold  and  startling  statements,  there  were 
accounts  of  indebtedness  to  the  concern  of  Paige  &  Crin 
gar,  amounting  to  nearly  $  45,000. 

At  length  the  Veteran  stopped  dictating  to  the  book 
keeper,  and  silently  ran  his  eye  up  and  down  the  formida 
ble  columns. 

"  Have  you  done,"  asked  Billings. 

"  Yes.  We  have,  I  think,  all  I  require.  I  have  seen  to 
my  satisfaction  how  the  enemy  marshals  his  forces." 

"  General,"  said  the  book-keeper,  "  I  don't  pretend  to 


156       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

know  much  about  law ;  but  I  '11  tell  you  how  this  appears 
to  me." 

"Well." 

*'  It  appears  like  a  pretty  thoroughly  locked  up  safe." 

"  Very  true,"  responded  the  Veteran  with  an  air  of  con 
cern.  "But,"  he  continued,  while  his  features  assumed 
that  stern  aspect  on  which  we  have  before  had  reason  to 
remark,  "  have  you  known  of  a  safe  that  has  defied  the 
continued  efforts  of  determined  men  ? " 

"  I  must  acknowledge  I  have  not,  though  I  am  somewhat 
interested,  just  now,  in  a  new  burglar-proof  lock  myself. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  Ve  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
iron  and  steel  are  no  proof  against  brains." 

"  It  is  so.  Neither  is  the  sagacity  of  a  rascal  proof 
against  the  determination  of  circumspect  honesty." 

"  That  is  true  also." 

All  this  time  the  Veteran  had  been  busy  studying  the 
records  before  him. 

"  This  is  a  formidable  array,"  he  said,  in  continuance  of 
their  conversation,  "  and  I  can  detect  no  flaw  in  it.  It  is 
consistent  with  itself  in  every  part.  The  flanks  are  well 
guarded.  The  position  seems  impregnable,  the  forces  in 
vincible  ;  but  only  by  battle  can  the  reality  be  revealed. 

The  book-keeper,  who  had  seen  much  of  men  in  his  as  yet 
brief  life,  contemplated  his  companion  with  sentiments  of  the 
profoundest  admiration.  Though  he  may  not  have  known 
BO  much  as  many  others  about  law,  he  knew  enough*  to 
realize  that  the  array  of  statements  and  figures  put  in  by 
the  executors  of  Allen  Paige's  estate,  and  there  displayed 
in  those  records,  with  such  a  man  as  Daniel  Garvin  behind 
them,  was  of  so  formidable  a  character  that  probably  no 
lawyer  could  be  found  to  attack  them,  at  any  price,  if  ho 
valued  a  special  reputation  for  success.  And  yet  here  stood 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  157 

a  man,  whose  education  had  been  almost  entirely  in  the 
field,  who  contemplated  the  impending  battle  with  this 
powerful  broker,  intrenched  as  he  was  behind  legal  works 
that  would  seem  to  defy  the  power  of  men  to  storm,  with 
a  calmness  of  determination  such  as  would  characterize  but 
few,  even  with  a  fair  and  easy  contest  before  them. 

Finally  the  Veteran  gave  the  records  a  slight  push 
toward  the  book-keeper,  and  then  with  the  off-hand  re 
mark,  "  A  sad  piece  of  work,  but  very  thoroughly  done.," 
which  he  -  uttered  aloud,  he  turned  away,  informing  the 
Surrogate's  clerk  —  who  was  busy  with  an  old  German 
that  had  come  all  the  way  from  Chicago  to  inquire  about 
a  will  his  son  Hans  had  left  in  New  York  for  him  when 
he  died  —  that  he  would  have  to  call  at  a  future  time. 

Billings  returned  the  records  to  the  clerk,  and  said  in  a 
low  voice, — 

"Mr. ,  for  very  important  reasons,  which  I  will 

make  known  to  you  at  another  time,  will  you  be  so  good 
as  to  mention  this  visit  of  mine,  and  this  gentleman's, 
also,  to  no  one  ? " 

"  By  no  means,  if  you  so  desire.  But  that  is  a  man  I 
should  like  to  be  introduced  to,  Billings." 

"  At  another  time,  if  you  will  be  so  gracious  as  to  wait." 

"  Certainly,"  replied  the  clerk  with  a  slight  laugh ;  and 
then  he  turned  his  attention  again  to  the  poor  old  German, 
with  whose  case  he  really  sympathized,  while  the  book 
keeper  accompanied  the  Veteran  from  the  office. 

As  they  descended  the  stairs,  the  latter  said,  — 

"  Billings,  there  is  one  piece  of  business,  whereby  Mr. 
Paige  is  asserted  to  have  lost  a  great  deal  of  money,  which 
it  seems  does  not  enter  into  the  settlement  of  the  estate." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  His  cotton  speculation.     I  understand  that  that  was 


158  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

given  Mrs.  Paige  as  one  of  the  losses  which  reduced  the 
estate." 

"  You  understood  aright.  I  overheard  Cringar  and  Gar- 
vin  talking  about  that  myself,  not  long  ago.  It  seemed  to 
me  as  though  they  intended  some  one  to  hear,  as  a  blind." 

"  They  have  treated  it  rather  as  an  open  matter  then  ? " 

"Yes." 

The  Veteran  with  a  sudden  movement  placed  his  hand 
on  the  book-keeper's  arm. 

"  Was  the  cotton  bought  in  New  York  ? " 

"  I  am  quite  certain  it  was." 

"  Is  it  possible  for  you  to  obtain  the  name  of  the  house 
he  bought  it  of." 

"  I  will  try  and  make  it  possible." 
.    "  Thank  you.     You  speak  like  a  man  of  success." 

"  You  think  of  making  an  attack  there  ? " 

"  I  will  skirmish  a  little.  Their  fortress,  which  seems 
so  impregnable  under  their  masterly  engineering,  may  yet 
have  its  weak  point." 

They  now  parted  at  one  of  the  entrances  of  City  Hall 
Park. 


CHAPTEE    XX. 

DANIEL  GAPtVIN'S  office  was,  three  years  ago,  in 
the  basement  of  a  building,  on  the  left  side  of  Wall 
Street,  about  midway  between  William  and  Pearl  Streets. 
At  the  left,  as  one  entered  the  door,  was  a  counter  with  a 
desk  upon  it  for  the  transaction  of  general  business.  In 
the  rear  was  a  small  room,  partitioned  off,  in  which  was 
transacted  business  of  a  more  confidential  nature ;  and  the 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  159 

reader  will  readily  surmise  that  with  Daniel  Garvin  such  a 
room  would  find  considerable  use. 

It  is  evening.  Garvin  has  done  a  hard  day's  work,  and 
made  money.  He  has  given  "  points  "  to  men  who  called 
him  a  friend/ and  thereby  put  them  on  the  wrong  scent, 
and  then  taken  them  in,  points  and  all,  through  a  third 
party.  The  victims  think  he  is  a  fellow-victim ;  but  now, 
as  he  is  left  alone,  he  sits  by  the  gas-light  and  reckons  up 
his  plunder. 

That  conscience  yet  deals  with  him,  in  its  own  way,  is 
made  evident  by  the  manner  in  which  he  starts  and  glances 
at  the  street  door,  which  is  locked,  as  a  sudden  and  unex 
pected  click  of  the  large  latch  strikes  his  ear.  He  looks 
through  the  partition  window  with  a  restless  scowl,  but  re 
ceding  steps  indicate  that  the  threatened  intruder  simply 
raised  the  latch  to  look  in  as  he  passed  by,  or  ask  direction 
to  some  place  or  person  he  was  seeking. 

The  broker  went  on  counting  up  his  booty,  every  now 
and  then  casting  a  look  of  impatience  toward  the  street. 

At  length  footsteps,  slow  and  shambling,  were  heard 
descencPing  from  the  sidewalk,  and  then  three  raps,  par 
taking  of  the  nature  of  these  shambling  steps,  sounded  on 
the  door. 

The  broker  instantly  gathered  his  papers  into  a  drawer, 
and  then  advancing  to  the  door  with  his  grinding  tread,  he 
turned  the  key  with  a  quick,  abrupt  movement,  and  ad 
mitted  the  visitor. 

"  Cringar  !  "  he  said  imperiously,  "  I  have  been  waiting 
for  you  ! " 

"  I  am  sorry,"  answered  the  merchant,  meekly ;  "  but  I 
have  come  as  promptly  as  I  could." 

Garvin  uttered  a  "  humph ! "  and  led  the  way  into  the 
back  room. 


160  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  strong  picture  which  Prescott  Marland  had  drawn 
of  Jonas  Cringar,  in  his  interview  with  the  Veteran  the 
day  the  latter  arrived  in  New  York  from  the  West,  was 
not  an  exaggerated  one.  As  he  now  follows  the  broker 
into  the  lighted  apartment  he  presents  an  object  of  un 
utterable  misery.  His  shoulders,  which  in  the  opening 
chapter  of  this  tale  we  described  as  somewhat  stooping, 
now  round  over  upon  his  chest,  as  if  the  weight  and  cares 
of  troublesome  years  had  borne  them  down.  His  step  is 
feeble,  uncertain,  and  shuffling. 

As  he  seats  himself  his  countenance  comes  into  full 
view.  It  is  a  pitiable  countenance,  —  haggard,  worn,  and 
weary.  It  looks  as  if  all  spirit  were  gone ;  as  though 
death  were  prevented  from  claiming  its  own  only  by  the 
infusion  of  a  will  outside  this  miserable  man,  —  the  will 
of  his  master,  Daniel  Garvin,  who  appears  to  hold  his 
shattered  mind  and  body  together  by  a  species  of  mental 
galvanism. 

That  habit  of  painfully  elongating  his  facial  muscles 
seems,  under  the  incessant  action  of  remorse,  to  have  set 
tled  into  absolute  fixedness,  imparting  an  impresSion  of 
terrible  internal  suffering. 

The  broker  sat  for  a  moment  in  silence,  contemplating 
with  a  secret  emotion  of  diabolical  triumph  this  ghastly 
work  of  his  hands. 

Cringar,  on  his  part,  once  ventured  to  raise  his  down 
cast  eyes  to  his  destroyer's,  in  which  the  rings  began  now 
to  display  themselves  with  deadly  distinctness ;  but  he 
could  endure  this  no  longer  than  a  passing  moment.  With 
a  perceptible  shudder  his  gaze  again  fell  to  the  floor,  and 
he  sat  like  some  statue  of  despair. 

Garvin  suddenly  broke  the  silence. 

"  Cringar ! "  he  exclaimed  with  his  penetrating  voice, 
"  are  you  playing  me  false  again  ? " 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  161 

"  Playing  you  false  ! "  uttered  this  broken  victim,  raising 
his  eyes  this  time  with  a  look  of  terror,  "  playing  you  false  ! 
Before  God  —  " 

"  What  have  you  to  do  with  God  now  ?  You  had  bet 
ter  take  your  oath  on  the  Devil ! "  was  the  broker's  blas 
phemous  interruption. 

Garvin  was  an  atheist. 

Cringar,  who  was  naturally  possessed  of  strong  religious 
feelings,  experienced  an  emotion  of  horror  at  this  remark ; 
and  for  an  instant  he  was  impressed  with  a  feeling,  as  if 
the  being  before  him  was  himself  the  Fiend  Incarnate. 
His  eyes,  in  place  of  falling  as  on  the  former  occasion, 
became  riveted  to  the  demoniacal  orbs  before  him  by  a 
terrible  fascination. 

The  broker  burst  into  a  loud,  contemptuous  laugh. 

"  You  are  losing  your  senses,  man ! "  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  think  I  am,"  returned  the  merchant,  whose  eyes  had 
been  released  by  this  laugh,  and  now  fell  again  to  the  floor, 
while  a  tremor  went  through  his  shattered  frame. 

The  broker's  laugh  continued  for  a  single  moment,  and 
then  it  closed  as  abruptly  as  it  had  opened ;  and  bending 
his  annihilating  eye  on  his  victim,  his  face  darkened,  and 
his  brows  met. 

"  Cringar,"  he  said, "  some  one  is  playing  me  false !  Have 
you  seen  Baling  lately  ?  " 

As  he  put  this  question  he  bent  a  scrutinizing  gaze  on 
the  merchant. 

"  I  've  not  seen  him  for  two  weeks." 

"  His  books  have  been  examined." 

The  merchant  started  in  affright. 

"  His  books  examined ! "  he  cried  hoarsely. 

"Yes." 

"  By  whom  ? " 


162       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  An  enemy." 

"  An  enemy  ?  " 

"  An  enemy." 

"  Impossible ! " 

"I  He  then?" 

"  You  —  lie.     I  —  protest  —  " 

"  Bah !  I  tell  you  that  an  enemy  has  been  through 
Baling's  accounts."  .••':;,*• 

"  And  —  and  discovered  all !  " 

"Fool!" 

"  Your  pardon ! "  ejaculated  the  miserable  merchant, 
shrinking  back. 

"  Do  you  think  I  leave  business  open  in  that  way  ? " 

"  My  head  is  not  strong,  —  I  did  not  think." 

The  broker  contemplated  the  miserable  object  of  his 
mental  by-play  with  scornful  pity. 

"  Is  nothing  discovered,  then  ? "  at  length  asked  Cringar, 
tremblingly. 

"  Nothing,  sir.  I  do  not  leave  my  tracks  to  be  followed 
up  by  every  spy  that  happens  behind  me." 

"  I  am  aware  of  it,  Mr.  Garvin,"  returned  Cringar,  reviv 
ing  a  little  under  a  change  in  Garvin's  voice. 

The  broker  grimly  smiled. 

"  I  will  tell  you,  sir,  and  then  you  can  judge,"  said  this 
scheming  egotist,  at  the  same  time  throwing  himself  back 
in  his  chair,  and  thrusting  the  thumb  of  his  left  hand  into 
the  armhole  of  his  vest.  "You  have  not  forgotten,  sir, 
that  Mr.  Baling,  being  my  very  particular  friend,  changed 
the  date  of  Mr.  Allen  Paige's  purchase  to  meet  the  facts  in 
the  case." 

"That  is,  he  found  a  mistake  in  his  entry  and  rectified 
it,"  joined  in  Jonas  Cringar  with  a  sickly  smile,'  his  anxiety 
to  hold  the  good-will  of  his  master,  who  he  perceived  had 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        163 

some  reason  to  suspect  him  of  treachery,  now  beginning  to 
unloosen  his  tongue. 

"  You  have  it.  You  now  talk  like  a  man  of  sense,"  re 
sponded  the  broker.  "  In  the  meanwhile  let  me  go  over 
this  business  a  little,  for  circumstances  may  occur  that  will 
require  your  memory  to  be  clear." 

The  merchant,  encouraged,  straightened  a  little,  and  pre 
pared  respectfully  to  listen. 

The  broker,  on*  his  part,  thrust  his  thumb  still  deeper 
into  the  armhole  of  his  vest,  and  expanding  his  chest  by  a 
slow  inspiration,  prepared  with  the  egotism  of  plotting  vil- 
lany  to  rehearse  his  sagacious  performances. 

"  As  you  probably  recollect,  the  original  entry  was  dated 
August  3d.  When  I  called  to  see  him,  last  November,  he 
acknowledged  the  error  on  its  being  pointed  out  to  him  by 
so  particular  and  trustworthy  a  friend  as  myself,  and  imme 
diately  set  it  right  by  a  proper  attendance  to  the  day-book. 
And  by  two  simple  touches  the  ledger  was  made  properly 
to  accord  with  it." 

"  By  inserting  the  figure  2,"  again  uttered  the  abject 
merchant,  "  and  changing  8  into  9.  It  was  a  very  sagacious 
bit  of  business." 

"  A  just  correction,  you  mean,  Mr.  Cringar." 

"  A  just  correction,  I  should  have  said." 

"And  thus  August  3d  was  properly  transformed  into 
August  23d,  and  $  87,315,  amount,  into  $  97,315,  with  the 
more  marked  success,  inasmuch  as  there  happened  to  be 
ample  space  left  between  the  t  of  August  and  the  figure  3  ; 

and  the  8  was  more  like  a  9  than  an  8  at  the  start.     All 

* 

this  you  have  not  forgotten." 

"By.no  means,  sir.  It  is  a  monument  of  your  —  r  — 
justice." 

"  Of  Mr.  Baling's  justice,  you  probably  intended  to  say." 


164       ?HE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  I  should  have  said,  of  Mr.  Baling's  justice." 

"  Thus,  as  you  perceive,  making  an  important  difference 
between  buying  cotton  on  the  3d  of  August,  at  a  dollar 
sixty-eight  cents,  to  be  sold  on  the  24th,  at  an  advance  of 
twenty  cents  to  the  pound,  and  buying  it  on  the  23d  of 
August,  at  a  dollar  eighty-seven  cents,  to  be  held  and  put 
on  a  sinking  market,  September  24th,  at  a  loss  of  forty- 
eight  cents  to  the  pound." 

"  A  very  important  difference." 

"  A  difference  so  important,  that  instead  of  ten  thousand 
dollars'  profit  appearing  in  favor  of  my  deceased  brother's 
estate,  a  loss  of  over  twenty  thousand  is  the  just  entry." 

"  It  is  quite  true." 

"A  transaction,  so  consistent  with  the  excitement  of 
those  days,  is  doubted  by  no  one,  who  recollects  the  great 
whirl  that  caught  up  the  brains  of  deeper  men  than  Mr. 
Paige." 

"  No  one  can  doubt  it." 

"  They  remember  that  cotton  started  in  June  from  about 
a  dollar,  and  went  up  like  a  pyrotechnic  serpent,  every 
now  and  then  taking  a  downward  twist,  to  mount  upwards 
with  a  still  fiercer  rush,  and  dazzling  the  eyes  of  all  be 
holders." 

"  Yes,  all  were  dazzled.  And  when  Allen  went  in  at 
one  sixty-eight,  I  feared  —  " 

"  At  one  eighty-seven,  sir ! "  thundered  the  broker. 

"  Pardon  my  treacherous  memory ! "  uttered  the  mer* 
chant,  sinking  back  in  a  sort  of  cowering  stupefaction. 

"  See  to  it  that  your  treacherous  memory  does  n't  play 
its  treachery  with  me  elsewhere,  sir !  "  returned  the  broker, 
at  the  same  time  slowly  rubbing  the  outside  of  his  breast 
pocket,  as  if  by  an  unconscious  movement. 

The  merchant  blanched. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  165 

"  Yes,  sir.  You  will  recollect  the  excitement  with  which 
your  partner  hurried  to  Baling  &  Co.,  and  bought  one  hun 
dred  and  eleven  bales  of  middling,  at  one  dollar  and  eighty- 
seven  cents,  amid  the  hot  predictions  that  the  market 
wouldn't  stop  till  cotton  soared  —  the  Heavens,  toward 
which  it  was  going,  only  knew  where." 

"  I  recollect  it  perfectly  well,"  responded  Cringar,  reviv 
ing  a  little.  .  "  The  Ked  Eiver  expedition  started  it  up,  — 
the  fall  of  Atlanta  sent  it  back.  My  partner  was  so  un 
fortunate  as  to  take  it  on  the  turn." 

"  Very  true.  I  am  glad  to  perceive  your  memory  improv 
ing.  Your  partner  —  my  lamented  brother  "  (the  merchant 
sickened  at  this  heartless  attempt  at  humor)  —  "was  so 
unfortunate  as  to  fall  into  the  snare  set  by  those  predic 
tions,  and  put  in  his  money,  and  held  on  to  his  cotton 
when  the  market  began  to  fall,  convinced  it  was  one  of 
those  twisting  descents,  preparatory  to  another  grand  up 
ward  flight ;  and  down  he  went  with  it,  scarcely  giving  him 
time  to  think,  till,  as  he  passed  one  forty,  he  threw  the 
whole  lot  over  to  save  himself ;  and  not  a  day  too  soon,  for 
you  undoubtedly  recollect  that  a  blank  appears  in  the 
quotations  after  this,  till  four  days  later  it  lights  on  one 
twenty  to  one  twenty-five.  There  was  wailing  and  gnash 
ing  of  teeth  in  those  days,  was  there  not,  sir  ?  "  asked  the 
broker  with  a  sardonic  grin. 

"  A  lamentable  amount  of  it,"  responded  the  merchant. 

"•Your  memory  is  now  clear  on  all  these  points,  and  be 
yond  the  chance  of  slipping  —  or  treachery  ? "  continued 
Garvin,  with  a  significant  emphasis  on  the  last  word. 

"Beyond  all  doubt,  sir,  —  beyond  all  doubt,  I  assure 
you." 


166  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTER    XXI. 

THE  broker  now  contemplated  Cringar  for  a  while  in 
silence.  He  moved  a  little,  that  his  own  eyes  might 
be  relieved  from  the  direct  glare  of  the  gas,  as  he  threw 
into  them  all  his  reserved  power  of  penetration,  while  he 
brought  them  to  bear  on  the  very  soul  of  his  victim.  In 
stantly  he  made  this  change  his  pupils  expanded  with  mar 
vellous  rapidity,  and  the  rings  increased  with  the  intensity 
of  their  lurid  light  in  proportion  as  this  action  of  the  pu 
pils  diminished  their  width.  At  the  same  time  the  upper 
lip  drew  slowly  back,  more  slowly  than  we  have  yet  seen 
it,  and  in  a  manner  that  gave  to  his  glistening  fangs  their 
deadliest  aspect. 

Cringar,  though  he  did  not  venture  to  look  up,  —  having 
invariably  dropped  his  eyes  after  each  response  to  the  fore 
going  recapitulation  and  admonitions  of  Daniel  .Garvin,  — 
felt  this  deadly  scrutiny  of  the  broker,  and  trembled.  He 
was  not  conscious  of  any  overt  act  of  treachery,  but  lie 
was  conscious  of  a  state  of  rebellion  within,  which  only 
the  terrible  power  his  tormentor  held  over  him  prevented 
from  breaking  forth  with  violence. 

The  most  positively  abject,  under  a  crushing  power,  are 
those  who,  possessing  a  certain  kind  of  strength  themselves, 
have  vainly  contended  against  this  power,  their  struggles 
only  serving  to  exhaust  them  and  leave  their  contending 
spirit  demoralized  and  broken  ;  which  now  and  then,  it  is 
true,  flashes  up  under  its  fearful  trial,  but  in  a  manner  that 
but  too  surely  indicates  its  helpless  condition. 

Suddenly  the  broker  spoke. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  167 

•<, 

"  Cringar,"  he  said,  "if  I  thought  you  were  so  much  as 
turning  the  little  finger  of  your  hand,  I  would  —  "  Here 
he  tapped  his  breast-pocket  with  two  or  three  strokes,  made 
with  such  venomous  rapidity  that  one  is  instantly  reminded 
of  the  simile  of  the  lizards,  uttered  by  the  excited  Mar- 
laiid  in  his  interview  with  the  Veteran. 

The  merchant,  whose  spirit,  under  the  reaction  of  the 
broker's  sustained,  imperious,  and  penetrating  gaze,  was 
preparing  to  make  one  of  those  rebellious,  nickering  efforts 
to  which  we  have  alluded,  threw  up  his  head  with  a  fright 
ened  stare ;  and  in  a  tremulous  voice  he  ejaculated,  —  . 

"  Ah,  great  God ! "  Then  as  Garvin  continued  his  stu 
dious  gaze,  he  uttered  in  a  broken  voice,  "  Mr.  Garvin  — 
give  me  a  Bible  —  and  I  —  will  swear ! " 

The  broker  responded  with  another  mocking  laugh. 

"  Never  mind  your  calf-bound  paper ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  I  '11  trust  my  eyes  quicker  than  I  will  your  God-packed 
oaths.  You  are  innocent.  That 's  my  verdict,  Now  I  '11 
tell  you  what  has  been  done." 

As  the  broker  gave  vent  to  this  second  blasphemous 
mockery,  Jonas  Cringar,  who  had  been  wrought  up  to  a 
high  pitch  of  terror  by  the  former's  significant,  reptile-like 
action  at  his  breast-pocket,  could  not  withdraw  his  startled 
gaze  from  the  blasphemer's  face,  and  for  a  moment  he  fan 
cied  himself  in  the  regions  Infernal. 

These  fancies  were  not  diminished  by  the  action  of  the 
gas-light,  which  suddenly  failed,  ere  Garvin  had  finished 
the  last  word  of  his  sacrilegious  speech,  and  after  seeming 
for  a  moment  to  cling  to  the  burner,  went  out. 

Garvin  uttered  a  curse,  and  rising  from  his  chair,  groped 
about  the  room  for  a  match,  which  finding,  he  lit  it  and 
looked  about  him. 

"  There 's    water  in   the   pipes,"    he   muttered.     "  It 's 


168       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

I 

played  me  the  same  trick  before.  It 's  gone  for  this  night, 
that 's  certain." 

Cringar,  who  was  overcome  with  dread,  now  rose. 

"  I  will  come  in  at  another  time/'  he  said  in  a  quivering 
voice.  "  Don't  trouble  yourself  on  my  account." 

"  Keep  your  seat,  sir  ! "  commanded  the  broker  in  a  sharp, 
snarling  voice.  "  I  '11  furnish  a  light ! " 

Cringar  fell  back  in  his  chair  as  though  he  had  been 
shot. 

The  match  in  Garvin's  fingers  here  burned  out.  Lighting 
another  he  went  to  an  old  stand  in  one  corner  of  the  room, 
and  opening  the  drawer,  took  out  a  small  piece  of  candle. 
He  lit  this,  and  then  looked  about  for  something  that  would 
serve  as  a  candlestick. 

"  Ah,  I  have  it ! "  he  exclaimed ;  and  he  approached  an 
odd-looking  parcel,  lying  on  the  floor  in  another  corner. 
"  That  boy  of  mine  can  do  some  good  with  his  mud,  which 
I  think  you  and  I  will  acknowledge  in  a  moment,  Mr.  Grin- 
gar." 

Undoing  the  thick  brown  paper,  he  brought  to  view  a 
small  mess  of  modelling  clay,  which  William  Garvin  had 
left  to  take  the  next  morning.  Then  he  took  an  empty 
tin  box  from  the  shelf,  and  filling  it  with  the  damp  clay, 
punched  a  hole  with  his  ugly  thumb,  and  inserting  the  bit 
of  candle  placed  it  on  the  table,  and  rubbed  the  clay  from 
his  hands  with  an  almost  comical  air  of  triumph. 

"  No  need  of  going  home  yet,  Mr.  Cringar,"  said  he, 
thrusting  his  thumb  into  the  armhole  of  his  vest  again. 
"  Gas  companies  are  not  allowed  to  control  Daniel  Garvin's 
business.  Now,  sir,  I  '11  proceed  to  recount  to  you  what 
has  been  done." 

"  I  shall  be  happy  to  hear,"  responded  Cringar,  resigning 
himself. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       169 

"  No  doubt.  Well,  as  I  have  told  you,  Baling's  books 
have  been  examined,  and  with  direct  reference  to  that 
transaction  of  my  worthy  half-brother." 

The  merchant  again  looked  frightened. 

"  Fear  not,"  said  the  broker  contemptuously ;  "  but  listen. 
Baling  came  the  other  day  and  informed  me  that  a  man 
had  been  to  his  office,  while  he  was  out,  and  under  one 
plausible  pretext  and  another  had  with  great  sagacity  en 
deavored  to  work  on  his  clerk  to  let  him  look  at  the  accounts 
of  sales  for  1864  '  But,'  says  Baling, '  Bob  's  got  his  eye 
teeth  cut,  and  he  wouldn't  give  him  so  much  as  a  squint 
till  he  had  seen  me.  So  he  told  the  stranger  to  call  again/ 
In  the  mean  time  Baling  had  come  to  me  to  let  me  know 
what  was  up,  for  his  suspicions  pointed  to  this  ill-advised 
purchase  of  your  partner ;  which,  you  will  bear  in  mind, 
though  justly  corrected  on  the  books,  he  would  naturally 
feel  sensitive  about,  inasmuch  as  he  is  not  often  com 
mitted  to  such  mistakes,  and  more  especially  to  blun 
ders  where  ten  thousand  dollars  are  made  instead  of  twenty 
thousand  lost.  You  can  understand  his  feelings,  Mr.  Grin- 
gar?" 

"Very  well,  sir,  indeed.  I  understand  them  very 
well." 

"  Now,  sir,  what  do  you  suppose  I  said  to  him  ? " 

"  To  Mr.  Baling  ? " 

"  Yes,  sir,  Mr.  Baling." 

"  Eeally,  sir,  you  must  have  told  him  not  to  allow  it." 

"  The  books  not  to  be  examined  you  mean  ? " 

"  Certainly,  sir." 

"  Then  certainly,  sir,  I  have  to  inform  you  that  I  did  no 
such  thing." 

"  Great  Heavens  !  you  —  " 

"  Told  him  by  all  means  to  open  his  whole  safeful  of 

8 


170       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

books  to  the  inquisitive  gentleman,  if  lie  wanted  to  look  at 
them." 

The  merchant  stared  at  Garvin  in  dismay. 

The  broker  gave  utterance  to  a  guttural  laugh  of  self- 
satisfaction,  a  tone  of  contempt  for  the  terrified  merchant 
being  mingled  with  it. 

"  Well,  do  you  take  me  for  a  fool  that  is  not  to  be  pre 
pared  for  this  sort  of  exigency  ?  Know,  sir,  that  I  have 
made  this  cotton  a  bold  point.  I  apprehended  that  it  would 
be  one  of  the  first  points  attacked,  if  any  one  should  ever 
be  fool  enough  to  assail  us  ;  and  now^  sir,  let  them  examine. 
What  do  they  find  ?  They  find  a  faultless  entry.  A  day 
book  out  of  the  reach  of  microscopes  and  chemicals.  I 
paid  money,  sir,  to  have  that  daybook  put  in  condition. 
Daniel  Garvin  leaves  nothing  to  chance,  —  nothing,  sir. 
The  daybook  being  all  right,  the  ledger  was  easily  adjusted. 
Now,  sir,  the  more  boldly  they  are  pushed  under  the  eyes 
of  curious  persons  the  more  thoroughly  are  these  presump 
tuous  meddlers  repulsed,  and  beaten  off  from  further 
attempts." 

"  I  trust  this  will  happen  in  the  present  instance." 

"  Depend  upon  it,  sir,  that  such  is  the  case." 

"This  man  has  visited  Mr.  Baling's  office  a  second 
time?" 

"  He  has,  and  went  away  with  a  flea  in  his  ear.  Do  you 
not  see  the  great  point  of  this  business,  sir  ?  Mr.  Paige, 
who  is  declared  by  his  admiring  friends  to  have  been  a  man 
of  immaculate  integrity  and  above  all  lies,  is  known  to 
have  reported  that  he  cleared  a  large  profit  011  his  cotton 
speculation.  The  mining  and  oil-well  business  they  con 
fess  they  never  heard  him  talk  about,  —  and  perhaps  for  a 
very  good  reason,  Mr.  Cringar,"  —  here  the  broker  indulged 
in  a  low  ironical  fit  of  laughter,  and  closed  it  by  repeating, 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  171 

"and  perhaps  for  a  very  good  reason,  Mr.  Cringar."  He  con 
tinued  :  "  Well,  sir,  these  admirable  friends  became  sagacious 
friends.  f  Let  us  ascertain  the  name  of  the  firm  he  bought 
the  cotton  of,  and  judge  by  the  quotations,'  they  say  to 
themselves.  So  with  profound  cunning  they  find  out  that 
he  bought  of  Baling  &  Co.  They  go  in,  —  ask  to  see  his 
books  with  a  depth  of  shrewd  simplicity  to  be  admired,  — 
and  find  out  for  themselves  that  he  bought  on  a  market 
that  must  have  inevitably  let  him  down.  They  then  find 
their  eyes  opened  to  the  revelation,  that  their  much-es 
teemed  and  lamented  friend  was  no  exception  to  the  scores 
of  deluded  merchants  of  this  inflammable  city,  who  could 
tell  a  business  lie  as  easily  as  they  could  eat  their  supper, 
provided  they  had  the  money  left  to  pay  for  it.  They  will 
then  give  up  the  scent  in  disgust.  Do  you  see  it,  sir  ? " 

The  merchant  did  see  it,  and  his  soul  was  seized  with 
renewed  pangs  of  remorse,  as  Garvin  thus  pictured  the 
ruined  reputation  of  the  partner,  whom  he  had  loved,  which 
was  but  an  accompaniment  to  the  ruin  of  his  unfortunate 
family.  These  pangs  refused  him  speech. 

The  broker  divined  his  thoughts,  and  his  own  soul  was 
filled  with  quivering  rage. 

This  depraved  schemer  was  not,  as  we  have  before  inti 
mated,  free  from  the  secret  scourgings  of  his  conscience. 
Could  he  have  slain  this  conscience  it  would  long  ago  have 
ceased  to  exist.  This  being  beyond  his  power,  all  he  could 
do  was  to  throw  about  his  heart  the  thick  veil  of  wicked 
ness,  to  make  it,  if  possible,  deaf  to  the  voice  of  the  ever- 
living  and  faithful  monitor.  But  this  veil  would  occasion 
ally  be  rent ;  and  then,  in  addition  to  the  dull  sounds  that 
never  ceased  to  be  heard,  and  which  placed  him  before  the 
pure  enjoyments  of  the  world  somewhat  as  one  racked  with 
inward  pain  is  situated  while  he  endeavors  to  listen  to  an 


172       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

entertainment,  his  exposed  heart  would  be  penetrated  by  a 
voice  so  quick,  so  sharp,  so  terrible,  that  he  would  inward 
ly  tremble  with  a  sort  of  desperate  fury.  Atheist  that 
he  was,  there  would  in  these  moments  sweep  over  him  the 
overwhelming  truth  that  there  is  a  God  that  judgeth  in 
the  earth.  The  realization  would  be  irresistibly  forced 
upon  his  self-absorbing  egotism,  that  over  him  was  held 
the  all-controlling  power  of  a  Supreme  Master. 

In  the  present  instance  he  was  subject  to  one  of  these 
secret  dramas  of  the  soul.  He  had,  in  the  self-compla 
cency  of  his  criminal  triumph,  yielded  somewhat  to  im 
pulse  ;  and  his  vanity,  which  with  such  men,  in  conjunc 
tion  with  their  inordinate  egotism,  partakes  of  the  spirit  of 
monomania,  had  been  allowed  to  lead  in  his  recital  to 
Jonas  Cringar.  While  thus  indulging  this  vanity,  his  mind 
had  been  more  or  less  preoccupied  with  his  self-exultant 
utterances,  and  he  had  consequently  failed  to  observe  those 
signs  of  the  internal  workings  of  his  victim's  soul  which 
he  usually  so  well  understood.  But  when  he  closed  his 
abominable  dissertation  with  the  abrupt  question,  "  Do  you 
see  it,  sir  ? "  and  received  only  silence  in  return,  he  sud 
denly  bent  his  piercing  gaze  on  the  conscience-smitten 
merchant.  Then  it  was  that  the  reaction  of  his  own  in 
dulged  weakness,  combined  with  the  reaction,  also,  upon 
himself  of  his  listener's  terrible  remorse,  caused  the  veil 
about  his  heart  to  be  rent  as  never  before ;  and  then  fol 
lowed  his  furious  perturbation. 

Cringar's  first  intimation  of  the  existence  of  this  rage 
was  the  grating  sound  of  Garvin's  teeth,  as  they  gnashed 
together.  Thus  recalled  to  his  senses  he  raised  his  eyes. 

He  had  seen  the  broker  many  times  with  an  aspect  that 
struck  him  with  terror,  but  never  had  he  appeared  to  him 
so  horrible  as  now.  His  eyes  had  broken  from  their  in- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  173 

tense  gleam  into  a  consuming  blaze,  which  appeared  to 
shoot  forth,  as  it  were,  from  two  caverns ;  the  beetling 
brows  were  bent  into  one  continuous  black  ridge,  and  the 
prominent  high  cheekbones  seemed  to  press  outward  and 
upward  to  oppose  themselves  to  these  ridges,  while  the 
sockets  between  them  had  the  appearance  of  being  drawn 
far  back  into  the  head.  •  An  unusual  darkness  seemed  to 
gather  on  the  skin,  and  the  upper  lip  twitched  with  a  spas 
modic  action,  revealing  the  grinding  teeth  in  contrast  with 
this  darkening  flesh,  and,  to  the  merchant's,  agitated  mind, 
in  ghastly  combination  with  the  cavernous  fires  above. 

As  Jonas  Cringar  beheld  this  sombre  and  terrific  visage, 
a  cold  sweat  burst  from  the  pores  of  his  creeping  skin,  and 
for  the  third  time  during  this  interview  he  felt  that  horrid 
shuddering  of  the  soul,  which  he  had  so  often  heard  pic 
tured  as  the  disembodied  spirit's  first  experience  when 
ushered  into  the  precincts  of  the  damned. 

"Wretch  1 "  finally  exclaimed  this  wrathful  semblance  of 
a  madman,  "  do  you  sit  there  leading  me  on  to  gabble  into 
your  heedless  ass's  ears,  while  you  are  thinking  how  to 
betray  me  ? " 

"  Before  a  just  God !  —  " 

The  broker  sprang  to  his  feet. 

"  Fool !  scoundrel !  idiot !  dare  to  speak  that  name  here 
again,  and  1 11  show  you  that  I  am  God  in  this  place ! " 

"  In  God's  name,  hush ! "  cried  the  merchant,  rising  also 
to  his  feet,  while  a  look  of  solemn  terror  took  possession  of 
his  features  ;  "  hush !  or  He  will  strike  you  dead ! " 

At  this  instant  a  wild  peal  of  laughter  rose  into  the 
night  air,  which  was  immediately  followed  by  a  shrill  voice, 
singing  with  a  jumbling  accent,  — 

"  My  gentle  sirs,  be  very  kind  \ 
Your  candle  's  out, 


174       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

My  gentle  sirs ! 

You  '11  be  found  out, 

My  gentle  sirs  ! 

But  gentle  me  you  cannot  find  !  " 

As  their  ears  were  greeted  by  this  laughter,  the  broker 
and  merchant  both  started  back,  appalled  by  what  seemed 
so  unearthly  an  interruption.  Their  distended  eyes  were 
simultaneously  directed  toward  the  back  window  whence 
the  laughter  came,  and  there  they  beheld  an  impish  face, 
pressed  against  the  pane,  while  from  its  mouth  issued  the 
gibberish  transcribed  above. 

The  diabolical  character  of  the  scene  was  enhanced  to 
these  startled  beholders  by  the  candle's  verification  of  the 
singer's .  words ;  for  having  burned  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hole  made  by  Garvin's  thumb,  it  now  sent  up,  preparatory 
to  going  slowly  out,  a  ghastly,  bluish  light,  which  clung 
to  the 'sides  of  the  cavity  as  it  ascended,  as  if  the  greasy 
substance  of  the  clay  lent  itself  to  the  flame. 

"  Ha  !  ha  !  ha  ! "  burst  from  the  throat  of  the  broker,  as 
the  face  swiftly  disappeared  on  the  utterance  of  the  last 
word  of  the  song.  "  It 's  simple  Sal,  the  janitor's  daughter ! 
You  look  frightened,  sir,"  he  said,  turning  to  the  trembling 
merchant,  while  he  closed  his  jaws  and  compressed  his 
lips  in  a  powerful  effort  to  control  his  own  agitation. 

The  merchant  was  incapable  of  speech.  The  broker's 
awful  blasphemy,  the  effort  of  his  own  solemn  adjuration, 
the  Jaugh,  the  song,  with  its  idiotic,  but  to  him  its  deadly 
prophecy,  the  dying,  ghastly  flame  of  the  clay-entombed 
candle,  and  the  broker's  guttural,  fear-fraught  laugh,  which 
penetrated  his  ears  with  an  effect  scarcely  less  'horrid  than 
the  laugh  of  the  idiot,  all  had  left  him  utterly  unstrung 
and  speechless. 

As  Garvin  was  about  again  to  speak,  the  blue  flame  ran 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       175 

up  the  socket  of  clay,  and,  hanging  for  a  moment  in  the 
air,  went  out  like  a  vanishing  spirit,  leaving  the  room  in 
utter  darkness. 

The  broker  grumbled  out  a  strongly  aspirated  but  sup 
pressed  curse. 

"  Take  your  hat,  Cringar,  and  come  along ! "  he  grumbled. 
"  No  more  talk  to-night ! " 

Cringar  obeyed  with  alacrity,  and  hurried  from  the  office 
as  if  he  sought  to  escape  the  awful  curse  that  he  felt  was 
now  brooding  there. 

Garvin  scowled  in  the  darkness  as  he  followed  him; 
and  while  he  locked  the  door  with  his  right  hand,  he 
brandished  his  left,  clenched  and  unseen-  by  the  object  of 
his  malignant  ire,  and  with  the  fourth  line  of  the  idiot's 
impish  song  still  ringing  in  his  ears,  he  muttered,  — 

"  Craven !  dare  to  fail  me,  and- Daniel  Garvin  will  teach 
you  whose  God  can  be  depended  upon ! " 


CHAPTEE    XXII. 

IT  is  a  warm  and  pleasant  day.     A  train  is  passing  over 
the  track*  of  the  New  Jersey  Central,  and  as  we  shall 
find  in  the  third  car  a  spirit  as  bright,  as  buoyant,  and 
warm  as  the  sunlight,  we  will  enter  by  touching  this  talis- 
*  man  which  I  hold  in*  my  hand,  the  author's  pen. 

It  is  Prescott  Marland  of  whom  I  speak.     He  sits  by 
the  open  window  —  for  in  New  Jersey  a  warm  April  day 
is  like  a  summer's  day  in  a  more  Northern  clime. 
"  Ice-cream  candy  ! " 

Prescott  stops  the  boy  who  cries  this,  and  takes  from  his 
vest-pocket  a  ten-cent  scrip. 


1*76       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  boy  hands  him  a  paper  of  the  candy. 

As  Prescott  receives  it  he  catches  sight  of  a  little  fellow, 
who,  sitting  on  the  opposite  side,  has  turned  and  now  wist 
fully  eyes  the  paper. 

Prescott,  on  the  instant,  whipped  out  another  piece  of 
currency,  which  proved  to  be  twenty-five  cents,  and 
taking  a  second  parcel  from  the  basket  handed  it  to  the 
longing  boy,  who  blushed,  stammered  out  a  "  Thank  you, 
sir ! "  and  then  proceeded,  without  more  ado,  to  tear  away 
the  paper  and  devour  its  contents. 

As  the  young  vender  was  preparing  to  give  the  fifteen 
cents  change,  Prescott  asked  him  if  he  could  afford  to  eat 
much  of  the  candy  himself. 

"As  much  as  my  hide  Id  be  worth,  sir !  Dad  don't  low 
it." 

"Well,  then,  give  me  back  five  cents,  and  sit  down  beside 
me  here  (the  boy  was  a  neat-looking  lad)  and  eat  a  paper 
at  my  expense,  if  you  have  time.  I  want  to  talk  with 
you." 

The  little  vender,  with  the  characteristic  freedom  of  a  boy 
of  his  class,  immediately  responded  to  Prescott's  invitation. 

The  young  Lieutenant  had  seen  at  a  glance  that  this 
boy  was  intelligent ;  and  if  there  was  anything  he  relished 
while  travelling,  it  was  to  gather  information  from  those 
sources  which  are  passed  unheeded  by  most  travellers.  As 
the  lad  ate  his  candy  he  led  him  into  conversation,  and 
gleaned  much  knowledge.  • 

"  I  make  a  good  deal  of  money  for  dad  here  some  days," 
said  the  boy  in  the  course  of  the  conversation.  "  But  it  's 
strange  how  it  works  !  Some  days  everybody  likes  candy, 
and  then  some  days  they  don't.  I  tell  you  what  it  is,  I 
likes  them  days  when  the  mammas  bring  in  their  little 
youngsters  to  see  New  York ;  then,  whew  !  how  it  goes  ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       177 

"  I  suppose  you  have  your  ups  and  downs  in  this  busi 
ness,  as  they  have  in  all  others,"  rejoined  Prescott  with  a 
smile. 

"  Yes,  and  no  mistake.  That 's  what  Joe  Deering  said 
when  I  took  his  place." 

"  Joe  Deering  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott. 

"Yes,  Joe  Deering.  And  a  mighty  fine  chap  he  was, 
•too.  I  liked 'that  chum,  I  did ;  and  if  he  should  get  well, 
and  come  back  here  for  this  place,  I  'd  be  glad  to  give  it  to 
him." 

"  Is  his  father  living  ? "  inquired  the  Lieutenant,  anx 
iously. 

"  His  father,  no  !    He  was  killed  at  the  war ! " 

As  the  lad  gave  this  answer,  a  man  who  sat  in  the  next 
seat,  front,  turned  his  head  half  round  to  listen.  He  was 
about  thirty,  and  had  a  look  of  energy. 

"  It  is  the  same,"  uttered  Prescott,  in  a  ruminating  voice. 

The  boy  looked  up  at  his  interlocutor  with  an  inquisitive 
air  of  surprise. 

"  Do  you  know  what  regiment  his  father  went  out  in  ? " 

"  No,  I  don't,"  said  the  lad,  scratching  his  head ;  "  but 
1 11  tell  you  what  I  do  know,  and  that  is  that  he  was 
killed  under  McClellan." 

"  It 's  the  same.     Do  you  know  where  they  live  ?  " 

"  No,  I  don't.  He  did  live  on  the  Bowery  ;  but  I  went 
up  there  one  time  to  see  him,  and  they  were  gone/' 

"  Yes,  the  Bowery.  That 's  where  they  lived.  What  do 
you  think  has  become  of  them  ? "  asked  Prescott,  anx 
iously. 

"  I  can't  tell  you.     Are  they  acquaintances  of  yours,  sir  ? " 

"  I  have  friends,  my  boy,  that  knew  them,"  replied  Pres 
cott,  at  the  same  time  that  his  mind  flew  off  to  her  whom 
he  first  met  while  she  was  in  search  of  Joseph  Deer- 
8*  L 


178       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

ing's  family.  He  then  thought  of  her  anxiety  for  this 
family,  who  had  disappeared  from  the  old  house  on  the 
Bowery,  since  he  first  met  her,  and  for  whose  welfare  she 
still  experienced  a  deep  solicitude. 

The  lad  observed  his  emotion,  but  misunderstood  his 
silence. 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,"  he  said.  "  I  don't  want  to  be  asking- 
impudent  questions  ;  that  ain't  my  business."  • 

Prescott  smiled  in  the  midst  of  his  anxiety. 

"  Your  question  was  n't  at  all  impudent,  my  boy.  But 
I  'm  sorry  you  can't  tell  me  where  he  lives.  Do  you 
think  they  are  in  want  ? " 

The  listener  in  front  here  turned  his  head  a  little  more. 

"  I  'm  afraid  they  are  badly  off,"  said  the  boy.  "'He  told 
me  his  mother  -was  sick,  and  he 's  got  two  little  sisters, 
and  he  supported  'em  all,  —  and  when  he  had  to  give  up 
sick  himself,  I  tell  you  he  felt  bad,  and  I  felt  bad  too,  sir  ; 
for  he  was  a  fine  fellow  and  no  mistake.  I  wish  I  knew 
where  they  lived.  You  'd  help  'em/ 1  reckon  ? " 

"  Yes,  my  boy,  I  would." 

"I  knowed  you'd  say  it,  sir !  You  see,  sir,  it 's  a  soldier's 
family ;  and  I  've  heard  a  good  many  that  rides  in  and  out 
here  say  soldiers'  families  ought  n't  to  be  made  beggars 
of,  and  allowed  to  starve  after  fighting  for  the  stars  and 
stripes." 

"  Good  ! "  exclaimed  the  man  in  front. 

"  And  I  say  amen  to  that,"  responded  Prescott. 

The  boy  looked  up  keenly  at  both  men,  and  then  mut 
tered  to  himself,  —  "  Soldiers  ! " 

"  Prescott  at  the  same  time  fixed  his  eye  on  the  stranger, 
and  reaching  forward  his  hand,  said,  — 

"  Comrade." 

The  other  accepted  the  proffered  hand,  and  said  in  re 
sponse,  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  179 

"  I  thought  you  had  seen  service.  Glad  to  see  a  soldier 
any  time." 

"  That 's  my  mind  exactly,"  returned  Prescott. 

The  stranger  now  looked  toward  the  boy's  seat. 

"  Take  it,"  said  the  lad,  rising ;  and  thanking  Prescott  he 
picked  up  his  basket  and  went  to  the  rear  of  the  car,  for 
his  vending  was  through  with  for  that  trip. 

Prescott's  new  acquaintance  now  came  and  sat  by  his 
side. 

"  I  've  been  listening  to  your  talk  with  the  lad  about 
that  soldier's  family.  It  seems  to  me  they  must  be  seeing 
hard  times,  if  that  boy  tells  the  truth," 

"  I  don't  doubt  him." 

"  Neither  do  I." 

"  I  've  known  of  this  family  before ;  and  I  know  that  if 
the  mother  is  sick,  and  that  boy  Joseph  too,  they  are  starv 
ing  unless  they  've  been  helped,"  said  Prescott. 

His  companion  frowned. 

"  Promises  !  promises  !  promises  !  that  was  the  song  ! " 
he  muttered.  "  Do  you  think,"  he  continued,  "  that  this 
would  have  happened  four  years  ago  ?  " 

"  I  do  not." 

"  Or,  say,  when  the  Merrimack  threw  these  Atlantic  cities 
into  a  ferment,  threatening  them  with  destruction  ?  " 

"  This  family  would  not  have  then  been  forgotten." 

"No." 

"  But,  after  all,  it 's  human  nature." 

"  'T  is  true.     It 's  human  nature." 

"  And  therefore  we  must  n't  reflect  too  hard  on  the  peo 
ple  at  large,  provided  they  '11  sustain  others  in  doing  what 
they  have  n't  the  time  to  think  of  doing  themselves." 

"  That 's  so  !  I  'm  a  little  riled  now  and  then  when  I 
hear  of  this  soldier's  family  starving,  and  that  soldier's 


180       TH2  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

family  freezing,  and  no  one  seeming  to  look  out  for 
them,  and  when  I  call  to  mind  the  pledges  the  people  who 
stayed  at  home  made  to  the  fathers  of  these  families, 
before  they  were  shot  down  by  the  Eebels  ;  but,  as  you  say, 
it 's  human  nature,  and  the  best  thing  to  do  is  for  the  sol 
diers,  themselves,  to  go  to  work  in  such  a  way  to  make 
these  pledges  .good  that  the  citizens  will  take  hold  and 
help  us." 

"  You  have  it.  It 's  the  only  sensible  way.  Look  here, 
what 's  the  use  of  a  man's  crying  out  broken  pledges  !  to  a 
railroad  train  that 's  left  hinrbehind,  because  they  promised 
to  take  him  on  and  did  n't,  and  stand  yelling  to  the  winds, 
letting  the  next  train  pass  by  instead  of  hopping  on ! " 

Prescott's  new  companion  laughed. 

"  That 's  the  idea ! "  said  he.  "  It 's  no  use  at  all.  If 
human  nature 's  human  nature,  I  suppose  we  've  got  to  treat 
it  as  human  nature.  In  short,  we  Ve  got  to  keep  up  with 
it." 

"Yes,  and  if  soldiers  can't  do  it,  who  can?"  rejoined 
Prescott,  laughing  in  his  turn.  "  Now  let  me  tell  you,"  he 
continued,  "  what  is  going  to  do  it." 

"  Go  on,"  said  the  other  with  a  significant  look. 

"  An  association." 

"Yes." 

"An  organization/* 

"Yes." 

"  An  association  of  the  soldiers  themselves,  —  organized 
efforts." 

"  You  have  it ! " 

Prescott  looked  at  his  companion  intently,  and  then  ut 
tered  the  three  words, 

"G.  A.  E." 

The  other  looked  in  turn.  "  I  take  it  you  are  a  member 
of  the  G.  A.  R,"  he  said. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GEAND  AEMY.  181 

Prescott  nodded. 

"Glad  to  hear  it,  comrade,"  exclaimed  the  companion 
clasping  him  again  by  the  hand  in  fraternal  greeting. 
"  We  've  just  organized  in  New  York." 

"  You  are  engaged  in  this  New  York  movement  then  ? " 

"  Yes.     If  any  city  needs  us  it  is  New  York." 

"  True.     You  will  have  cases  enough  to  attend  to." 

"  True  again.  And  that  is  the  reason  we  should  be  at  it. 
We  shall  have  enough  to  do.  I  presume  I  must  look  upon 
you  as  my  senior  as  a  comrade  ? " 

"  I  joined  in  Illinois,  in  the  first  of  it." 

"Well,  it 's  wonderful  how  it 's  going  ! " 

"  Yes,  wonderful !  And  yet  not  so  much  to  be  wondered 
at.  The  men  that  went  into  this  war  are  n't  the  kind,  gen 
erally  speaking,  to  stand,  after  the  war's  over,  and  see  the 
families  of  their  comrades  suffer." 

"  That 's  so,  comrade,  every  word  !  And  I  'm  confident 
that  every  true-hearted  soldier  will  take  hold  with  us  as 
soon  as  he  knows  what  we  are  about." 

"  We  shall  have  to  contend  against  one  thing." 

"What's  that?" 

"  The  outcries  of  ouf  enemies." 

"  They  can't  hurt  us." 

"  Excuse  me,  comrade  ;  but  I  think  they  can." 

"Not  materially." 

"  For  the  time  being,  at  least." 

"How?" 

"By  their  usual  vituperative  statements.  You  see  we 
are  necessarily  a  secret  organization.  Men  have  a  good 
deal  to  say  about  secret  societies,  but  I  '11  tell  you  what  it  is, 
you  've  got  to  put  powder  and  ball  pretty  well  out  of  sight 
to  make  them  do  the  work  when  the  priming  sets  them 
off.  But  here  's  the  chance  for  our  enemies.  They  '11 


182       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

have  more  stories  to  tell  about  us  than  there  were  colors  in 
Joseph's  coat." 

"  Bah  !  I  Ve  heard  their  stories ;  but  who  '11  believe 
them  ? " 

"  A  great  many ;  for,  do  you  see,  we  are  compelled  to  con 
fine  ourselves  to  denials.  What  we  may  or  may  not  do 
cannot  be  proved  in  all  cases  to  outsiders,  inasmuch  as  they 
are  not  admitted  to  our  meetings  to  see  for  themselves."" 

"  It  is  true.  But  I  believe  in  the  end  their  libels  will 
do  us  good." 

"  I  believe  so,  too.  Libels,  with  but  few  exceptions,  in 
evitably  work  that  way." 

"  When  I  hear  them  talking  about '  pandering  to  military 
ambition,'  a  '  political  machine,'  and  the  like,  I  think  to 
myself  that  such  venomous  attacks  will  be  sure  to  react  on 
those  that  make  them." 

"  All  this,  however,  is  an  admonition." 

"  An  admonition  ? " 

"  That  we  cannot  be  too  strict  in  eschewing  all  these 
things.  The  very  fact  that  we  consider  it  important  to 
refute  the  accusations  of  our  enemies,  should  be  sufficient 
warning  that  such  indulgences  would  be  inimical  and  dis 
astrous  to  the  Order." 

"  I  agree  witti  you  there.  I  have  understood  that  some 
of  the  soldiers'  and  sailors'  clubs  lent  themselves  to  this 
outside  business,  and  accordingly  lost  the  confidence  of 
the  community." 

"Yes,  many  of  those  clubs  seem  to  have  been  formed 
rather  for  the  purpose  of  making  their  voices  heard  in 
complaints  than  for  good  hard  work  in  behalf  of  those  who 
honestly  stood  in  need  of  fraternal  aid.  And  when  men 
gather  together  to  complain,  they  simply  offer  themselves 
to  the  first  intriguer  that  happens  along." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       183 

"  That 's  true.  Still,  we  should  give  due  credit  to  these 
clubs.  They  have  undoubtedly  done  much  good." 

"  Undoubtedly.  But  they  did  not  form  a  responsible 
body,  whereby  the  part  is  accountable  to  the  whole.  They 
have  been  valuable  as  forerunners  of  our  present  organi 
zation." 

"  I  see  that." 

"From  their  very  nature  they  were  not  calculated  to 
resist  the  strong  current  that  was  bearing,  and  would  al 
ways  bear,  against  them,  as  it  will  bear  against  us,  and 
which  we  are  sure  to  withstand." 

As  Prescott  uttered  this  remark,  a  booming  sound  an 
nounced  that  the  train  was  advancing  upon  the  long  bridge 
that  spans  Newark  Bay. 


CHAPTEK    XXIII. 

THE  two  soldiers  gazed  in  silence  for  a  moment  over 
the   calm,  sunlit  water,  dotted   here   and   there   by 
small  craft   that  lazily  awaited   any  "cat's-paws"  which 
might  occasionally  touch  their  sails  as  they  swiftly  passed, 
ruffling  the  water  in  their  shifting  course.  * 

"  This  bridge  offers  a  very  good  illustration  of  your  re 
mark,"  said  Prescott's  companion,  who  had  withdrawn  his 
gaze  from  the  distance,  and  directed  it  to  the  powerful 
current  immediately  under  them.  "  When  the  contractor 
undertook  to  build  it  there  was  a  great  cry  that  he  would 
fail.  The  rush  of  water,  as  you  see,  is  very  powerful  here, 
and  it  was  predicted  that  his  attempt  would  be  his  ruin ; ' 
for  this  current  would,  before  winter  and  spring  had  done 
with  it,  send  it  down  the  stream  to  be  sold  for  old  lumber." 


184        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  I  have  heard  something  about  it,"  said  Prescott,  with 
interest;  and  he  gazed  on  the  rushing  waters  as  they 
tore  away  from  the  bridge  in  their  onward  course,  as  if  in 
rage  at  their  impotent  efforts  to  rend  its  foundations 
asunder.  "Former  experience  lent  force  to  these  predic 
tions  ;  but  the  contractor  put  good  hard  sense  against  past 
failures  and  present  predictions  combined.  This  is  how  he 
did  it.  He  sank  a  great  mass  of  stone  with  every  pile,  all 
so  fastened  together  that  an  earthquake  would  have  to 
come  along  to  undo  the  job." 

"We  are  riding  over  a  stone  quarry  then,  I  should 
think,"  said  Prescott,  laughing. 

"  That 's  about  what  it  amounts  to.  And  if  this  current 
can  lug  off  a  stone  quarry  it  can  lug  off  this  bridge.  Now, 
comrade,  the  foundations  of  an  Order  like  ours  must  be 
the  same.  As  you  say,  there  will  ever  be  strong  currents 
bearing  upon  it,  and  it  must  be  founded  in  the  granite  of 
strict  and  consistent  principles  to  stand  against  them." 

"I  like  to  hear  you  talk  that  way,"  rejoined  Pres 
cott,  bringing  a  hand  emphatically  down  on  the  other's 
knee.  "  Many  entertain  the  idea  that  all  that  soldiers  can- 
have  in  mind,  in  gathering  together,  is  to  cut  up  their  old 
camp  shines,  and  keep  their  hands  in  so  as  to  slaughter, 
one  of  these  da^s,  every  unlucky  dog  who  does  n't  happen 
to  think  as  they  do." 

"  Ha !  ha  !  you  are  about  right  there.  There  's  a  certain 
class  of  men  that 's  mighty  afraid  of  soldiers  !  " 

"  Yes,"  returned  Prescott  with  a  significant  glance  at  a 
hard-visaged  old  fellow,  sitting  just  back,  whom  he  had 
observed  to  scowl  when  the  word  soldier,  uttered  by  them, 
had  once  met  his  ear ;  "  and  well  they  might  be,  seeing  we. 
have  been  so  successful  in  putting  down  their  friends." 

"Of  course,"  said  the  other,  "they  will  stand  ready  to 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  185 

denounce  everything  as  politics,  or  dangerously  military, 
that  they  can  possibly  get  hold  of." 

"  Certainly.  It 's  in  their  nature.  But  all  we  Ve  got  to 
do  is  to  be  sure  our  base  is  right,  and  then  push  on,  undis 
turbed  by  ever}*  little  crack  of  a  buckshot  musket  that 
we  hear  in  the  woods." 

"  There 's  one  thing  about  it.  We  shall  often  have  to  fight 
down  unprincipled  opposition  in  one  form  or  another,  and 
no  doubt  when  we  do  so  they  '11  raise  the  hue  and  cry  of 
'  Politics  ! '  as  their  last  resource." 

"  0  yes,  there  are  men  mean  enough  for  anything  ;  and 
if  to  carry  out  their  petty  spite  they  knew  they  were  surely 
exposing  a  thousand  families  of  the  soldier  to  starvation, 
it  would  make  no  difference.  They  would  probably  say 
'  D — n  the  soldier,  and  his  family  too  ! '  and  let  drive  their 
venom  with  a  louder  hiss  than  ever." 

The  hard-faced  old  fellow  behind  heard  this  remark,  and 
winced  perceptibly,  while  Prescott,  who  had  kept  one  eye 
on  him,  put  his  hand  to  his  mouth  and  nudged  his  com 
panion.  At  the  same  time  he  bent  his  head  to  the  other's 
ear  and  whispered,  — 

"  An  old  copperhead  in  the  rear  rank !  " 

"  Let 's  ask  him  to  subscribe  for  the  new  Post ! "  returned 
the  other  with  a  grimace. 

"  He 's  been  posted  as  much  as  he  '11  bear,  I  'm  thinking," 
rejoined  Prescott. 

His  comrade  laughed,  and  turning  his  head,  took  in, 
with  an  offhand  glance,  the  features  of  the  object  of  this 
sally. 

He  instantly  turned  back  to  Marland. 

"  I  know  the  old  fellow  like  a  book.  It 's  Copperhead 
Snarling,  —  that 's  what  the  boys  all  call  him.  He  ought 
to  have  been  hung.  But  General  Dix  did  the  next-best 


186  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

thing,  —  lie  put  him  into  Fort  Lafayette.  Why,  that  old 
sinner  would  work  night  and  day,  if  he  thought  he  could 
do  us  an  injury.  A  son  of  his  was  drafted,  and  the  young 
scion  had  to  go ;  and  when  he  thinks  it 's  for  his  interest 
the  hypocrite  prates  about  his  '  soldier  loy  ! '  I  should  n't 
be  at  all  astonished  yet,  if  through  this  '  soldier  loy '  he 
were  to  work  away  with  malcontents  to  get  up  some  kind 
of  a  flash  opposition  concern ;  and  as  he  's  always  yelled 
'  Constitution  ! '  when  we  Ve  shouted  '  Republic  ! '  he  'd  be 
sure  and  stick  that  into  the  name  somewhere ;  and,  again,  as 
we  should  be  powerful  by  that  time  he  would  undoubtedly 
advocate  stealing  all  the  thunder  from  us  he  could,  and 
back  it  up  by  proposing  to  harness  as  much  of  our  name 
on  as  they  could  trot  under." 

"  Who  knows  ? "  returned  Prescott,  amused.  "  Of  course 
they  would  give  a  wide  berth  to  politics,  seeing  that  is  the 
cry  with  which  they  fill  the  air,  when  they  denounce  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic." 

"  Lord,  yes,  sir  !  they  would  undoubtedly  give  politics  a 
wide  berth,  —  that  is,  in  this  way :  They  would  probably 
come  up  from  their  sea  of  troubles  groaning  and  sobbing, 
declaring  to  the  world  that,  seeing  no  chance  in  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Eepublic  —  rampant  with  its  political  dem- 
agoguism  —  they  were  going  to  have  an  organization  so 
free  from  politics,  so  pure  and  immaculate,  that  as  none 
but  those  of  their  own  stripe  could  live  in  it,  they  should 
have  it  understood  that  here  these  harmonious  spirits  could 
find  a  political  asylum,  and  none  others." 

"  Well,  well !  "  replied  Prescott,  still  more  amused.  "  1 11 
note  that  down,  and  if  it  happens,  I  '11  call  you  a  prophet.* 

*  Aside  from  the  brusque  language  of  Prescott's  hearty  comrade,  espe 
cially  that  having  direct  reference  to  the  man  behind  him,  whom  he  called 
Copperhead  Snarling,  his  implied  prophecy  seems  in  the  main  to  have 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        187 

But  coming  back  to  the  G.  A.  E.  in  New  York,  I  am  greatly 
rejoiced  to  see  the  work  going  on.  I  have  known  of  this 
movement,  for,  besides  a  slight  influence  I  have  been  able 
to  exert  to  this  end,  I  have  a  friend  who  has  been  able  to 
effect  a  good  deal  more. 

"  Is  he  from  the  West  ?  " 

"  He  is." 
-  "  I  think  I  know  whom  you  mean." 

"  Who  ? " 

"  General  Hammond." 

"  You  have  it  at  the  first  guess." 

"  His  soul  seems  done  up  in  the  Grand  Army." 

"  It  is.  He  would  assist  a  deserving  comrade  at  the  risk 
of  his  life." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  from  what  I  've  heard  of  him." 

"  One  such  man  giving  his  heart  and  soul  to  the  cause, 
after  having  the  time  he  has  had  to  thoroughly  understand 
it,  does  more  to  refute  the  slanders  and  libels  of  our  enemies 
than  could  reams  of  foolscap." 

"  'T  is  true.  But  now  tell  me  of  the  family  you  were 
talking  about  with  the  candy-boy.  That  seems  to  be  one 
of  the  first  cases  for  us  to  attend  to." 

"  It  is  a  family  named  Deering.  The  soldier's  name  was 
Joseph  Deering.  He  went  out  in  a  New  York  regiment, 
and  was  killed  in  the  Peninsular  campaign,  under  McClel- 
lan,"  answered  Prescott. 

The  other  took  out  a  memorandum-book,  and  proceeded 
to  write  this  information  down. 

been  fulfilled  by  individuals,  who  have  recently  taken  preliminary  steps 
toward  organizing  a  society,  to  be  called  The  Grand  Army  of  the  Consti 
tution  ;  the  manifest  absurdity  of  whose  position  is,  that,  while  they  make 
pretence  of  complaint,  on  the  ground  of  politics,  against  the  G.  A.  R., 
one  of  whose  cardinal  principles  is  the  exclusion  of  politics,  they  them 
selves  make  politics  the  distinctive  feature  of  their  organization. 


188       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Prescott  watched  his  companion's  movements  with  in 
tense  satisfaction.  Not  only  did  he  realize  that  a  system* 
atic  effort  would  now  be  made  to  seek  out  and  relieve  this 
family,  whose  situation  had  so  excited  his  sympathies,  but 
he  could  bear  the  cheerful  news  to  that  other  soldier's 
family ;  for  even  in  the  midst  of  their  own  trials  they  for 
got  not  these  suffering  ones,  whom  they  could  not  trace 
after  they  had  left  the  old  house  in  the  Bowery. 

"  I  trust  you  will  find  them,"  he  said. 

"  If  they  are  to  be  found  in  New  York,  we  '11  find  them," 
said  the  other  with  decision.  At  the  same  time  he  turned 
the  leaf  of  his  memorandum-book. 

Prescott  observed  several  names  entered,  with  directions. 
Among  these  his  eye  detected  one  that  looked  familiar.  As 
it  was  written  very  hastily  he  did  not  feel  quite  certain. 

"  Can  I  look  over  your  list  ? "  he  asked. 

"  Certainly.  They  are  all  soldiers'  families.  They  are  to 
be  looked  up." 

Prescott  took  the  book,  and  examined  it  with  an  anxious 
eye. 

"  You  have  the  name  of  Allen  Paige  here,  I  perceive,"  he 
said,  slightly  flushing. 

"  Yes.  He  was  a  true  soldier.  He  was  reported  to  be 
wealthy  when  he  died,  but  it  was  found  that  speculation 
had  ruined  him ;  and  I  understand  his  family  are  in  a  state 
of  destitution,  and  are  really  objects  of  relief." 

Prescott  reddened  so  suddenly  that  he  was  obliged  to 
turn  and  gaze  out  of  the  opposite  car- windows,  with  an  air 
as  if  he  had  unexpectedly  caught  sight  of  an  object  of 
great  curiosity. 

It  was  a  hard  thing  for  an  ardent  lover  to  see  the  name 
of  his  loved  one's  family  written  down  in  a  list  of  the  des 
titute,  to  be  aided  from  a  Belief  fund. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  189 

He  recovered  himself  as  quickly  as  possible,  and  turned 
to  his  comrade. 

"  I  do  not  think  this  family  will  need  your  aid,"  he  said. 
"  I  am  quite  well  acquainted  with  them  ;  and  though  they 
suffer  privation,  they  go  on  the  principle  that  everything 
they  own,  that  seems  in  the  least  degree  superfluous,  must 
go  toward  their  support  before  they  will  consent  to  receive 
aid  from  others." 

"  That 's  the  spirit  I  like  ! "  exclaimed  the  other/  "  But 
look  here,"  said  he,  thoughtfully ;  "  sometimes  these  are  the 
very  kind  —  who  have  the  true  pride  of  a  soldier's  family  — 
that  allow  themselves  to  suffer  too  much  before  accepting 
relief.  JSTow  I  don't  pretend  to  know  much  about  this 
family,  but  I  was  told  something  by  a  comrade  that  looks 
as  though  they  were  in  a  hard  situation." 

"  What  was  it  ? "  inquired  Prescott,  whose  emotions  were 
growing  every  moment  more  painful. 

"You  see,  he  happened  to  be  in  a  pawnbroker's  shop 
the  other  day,  and  I  will  relate  to  you  what  occurred  just 
as  he  gave  it  to  me,  dialect  and  all.  The  Jew  was  slightly 
acquainted  with  him,  and  it  seems  he  had  heard  of  the 
Grand  Army ;  so  he  asked  him  if  the  soldiers  were  going 
to  have  Posts  in  New  York.  Comrade  Walker  told  him 
'Yes.'  'Veil  den/  says  he,  'I  'sh  glad  of  it,  for  I  likes  der 
soldiers  first-rate.  I  was  always  a  goot  Union  man.  Now 
look  here,'  and  he  took  a  box  out  of  his  safe, '  I  show  not 
der  pawns  to  everypody  that  comes  into  mine  establishment, 
boot  you  ish  von  good  Union  soldier,  and  I  vill  show  you 
someding,  and  tell  you  der  story.  In  der  midst  of  der 
great  storm,  mit  der  sleet  and  wind  and  cold  wedder,  dat 
we  have  stronger  than  never  were  yet  sence  der  month  of 
January,  dare  come  into  mine  shop  a  young  lady  mit  der 
face  so  sweet  and  beautiful  under  der  —  what  you  call  'im 


190       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

—  vater-proof  hood,  all  covered  mit  der  sleet,  and  der  sweet 
face  looking  so  sad  and  worn  mit  der  sorrow,  that  mine 
heart  was  very  mooch  touched.  And  then,  ven  she  takes 
off  der  pin  and  tells  me  she  vants  to  pawn  it,  and  I  see 
dat  it  must  pe  der  portrait  of  her  fader,  and  ish  one  vary 
fine-looking  man,  as  you  see,  I  felt  mit  mine  eyes  as  if  I 
must  cry,  and  I  advanced  more  than  ever  were  yet  py  me, 
and  I  say  to  mineself  —  while  she  give  von  big  sob  when 
I  takes  der  pin  an'  gives  her  der  monish  —  if  I  was  von 
soldier,  I  would  go  and  work  mit  all  my  might  and  main, 
and  make  von  big  society  of  der  soldiers;  and  mit  der 
same  I  would  help  the  family  of  der  soldier  —  because,  you 
tiuk  of  it,  and  you  vill  see  dat  der  world  ish  vary  apt  to 
forget  der  big  promises  made  to  der  brave  soldier,  ven  he 
goes  off  to  der  wars.  Their  heads,  and  der  houses,  and  der 
money-boxes,  dey  all  pe  safe  and  sound,  and  dey  say  to 
der  poor  soldier,  '  Have  a  dundering  jolly  time  at  der  war, 
you  fine  fellers,  eh  !  An'  mit  der  time  you  pe  gone,  I  pay 
von  hundred  dollar  to  buy  substitute  for  der  town.'  And 
then  dey  botton  up  their  pokets,  and  mit  der  hands  dey 
pat  on  der  pocket-book  jest  so,  and  say,  '  Der  war,  it  tarn 
near  ruin  me,  an'  I  can  give  no  more  monish.  Der  soldier 
dat  was  killed  was  von  tamned  unlucky  dog,  and  his  fam 
ily,  dey  must  go  to  de  authorities  or  to  der  tuyfel ! '  Well, 
den,  mit  mine  eyes  dey  pe  snapping  ven  I  tink  of  dis,  I  say 
to  der  young  lady,  '-Vill  you  not  take  der  seat  and  warm 
yourself  ? '  but  she  was  in  von  great  haste,  and  mit  der  'tank 
you,'  she  opens  der  door  and  flies  away  in  der  big  storm." 

"  Well,  all  this  while  Comrade  Walker  was  keeping  his 
ear  open  to  Isaac,  and  at  the  same  time  staring  in  amaze 
ment  at  the  pin.  '  You  know  der  soldier  ? '  said  the  Jew. 
'  Yes,'  said  Walker.  You  see  it  was  Allen  Paige,  his  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  before  Petersburg,  but  he  did  n't  let  on  to 


THE  VETERAN   OF   THE   GRAND   ARMY.  191 

the  pawnbroker.  He  just  asked  what  was  to  pay,  and  told 
him  to  please  say  nothing  to  any  one,  but  to  keep  the  pin 
safe,  and  if  it  was  not  called  for  he  would  redeem  it ;  for 
you  see  he  felt  mighty  sensitive  about  the  matter ;  he 
thought  a  good  deal  of  Colonel  Paige,  and  had  heard  a 
great  deal  of  his  family.  The  Jew's  figure  was  a  high  one, 
compared  to  what  pawnbrokers  iisually  advance  on  their 
pawned  securities,  which  went  to  show  that  his  talk  was 
not  all  gab,  but  that  he  really  felt  for  Colonel  Paige's 
daughter,  who  undoubtedly  was  the  one  that  called  at  his 
shop." 

The  speaker  now  stopped  in  surprise,  and  looked  intently 
at  his  companion. 

Prescott's  face  indicated  the  profound  strength  of  his 
varied  emotions. 

His  comrade's  recital  of  the  Jew's  quaint  but  touching 
story  had  produced  an  effect,  which  the  former  little  im 
agined  as  he  rattled  off  the  dialect  of  the  kind-hearted- 
pawnbroker.  Prescott  had  observed  the  absence  of  that 
pin  from  Emma's  beautiful  throat,  but  he  had  said  nothing. 
Now  it  was  explained  to  him,  and  in  a  manner  that  wrung 
his  heart  again  and  again. 

The  Pawnbroker  ! 

One  usually  hears  this  name  in  connection  with  the  for 
tunes  of  a  loved  friend  with  dread.  There  are  men  who 
serve  to  redeem  this  business  of  the  traditionary,  hard 
hearted  avariciousness  usually  associated  with  it,  one  pawn 
broker  of  our  acquaintance  being  of  unusually  generous  and 
open-hearted  disposition,  who  has  kept  goods  months  after 
the  expiration  of  the  time  allowed  by  law  to  redeem  them, 
from  pure  kind-heartedness ;  but  this  does  not  render  the 
knowledge  that  a  dear  and  beloved  friend  has  been  driven 
to  the  pawn-shop  in  order  to  sustain  existence  the  less  sig- 


192       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

nificant  of  privation,  and  a  consequent  source  of  apprehen 
sive  dread. 

But  with  Prescott  Marland  dread  formed  only  a  part  of 
his  present  emotions.  A  sort  of  horror  seized  him ;  for  he 
had  good  reason  to  remember  the  storm  which  the  Jew 
had  described ;  and  the  picture  so  vividly  drawn  of  that 
devoted  daughter  and  sister,  flying  in  the  driving,  blinding 
sleet  to  a  pawnbroker's  shop  to  pledge  her  dear,  sainted 
father's  gift,  that  those  she  loved  might  live,  was  one  well 
calculated  to  stir  this  generous  and  ardent  lover's  soul  to 
its  profoundest  depths.  He  could  scarcely  repress  a  groan 
of  anguish. 

"What  ails  you,  comrade?"  asked  his  companion, 
somewhat  startled. 

"Nothing,"  replied  Prescott,  making  a  great  effort  to 
recover  his  self-composure.  "I  may  tell  you  at  some 
future  time."  He  added,  "  I  am  well  acquainted  with  this 
family,  and  I  promise  you  the  Post  shall  be  notified  if  they 
need  your  assistance." 

The  train  now  entered  the  depot  on  North  Eiver,  and 
the  two  soldiers,  taking  the  boat,  parted  in  New  York 
City. 

As  they  were  about  separating,  Prescott  said,  with  a  half- 
laugh,  — 

"  Comrade,  I  seem  to  have  known  you  so  well  from  the 
first,  I  've  not  taken  the  pains  to  ask  your  name." 

"  The  same  with  me.     My  name  is  Charles  Roberts." 

"  And  mine  Prescott  Marland." 

"  Good  by,  comrade." 

"Good  by." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       193 


CHAPTEE  XXIV. 

THE  reader  has  surmised  that  the  examination  of  Baling 
&  Co.'s  books,  as  recounted  by  the  broker  to  Jonas 
f}ringar  in  Chapter  XXI.,  was  made  at  the  instigation  of 
the  Veteran.  We  left  him,  at  the  time  he  parted  with  the 
book-keeper  after  the  visit  to  the  Surrogate's  office,  thinking 
of 'the  cotton  speculation  in  which  Allen  Paige  was  known 
to  have  been  engaged,  having  expressed  to  Billings  his 
judgment  that  here  might,  perchance,  be  found  the  weak 
point  of  the  enemy's  fortifications. 

With  this  man  of  action,  to  think  was  to  do.  He  accord 
ingly  determined  at  once  to  feel  out  the  strength  in  this 
direction. 

He  again  found  in  the  book-keeper  a  ready  assistant. 
Through  his  aid  he  ascertained  that  the  cotton  was  bought 
of  Baling  &  Co.,  cotton  dealers.  The  next  thing  was  to 
examine  the  books  of  this  firm.  The  Veteran  did  not  deem 
it  policy  to  appear  in  person  for  the  purpose  of  examining 
these  books ;  Billings  therefore  undertook  to  perform  this 
service.  Disguising  himself  sufficiently  to  prevent  recog 
nition  by  any  one  who  might  have  seen  him  in  Cringar's 
store,  he  proceeded  to  the  work  with  much  sagacity ;  but, 
as  Garvin  had  reported  to  the  merchant,  his  sagacity  did 
not  succeed  in  hoodwinking  Baling,  who,  having  previously 
been  warned  by  the  broker,  was  on  the  alert  for  any  move 
ment  of  this  kind. 

We  have  also  learned,  through  the  broker,  of  the  entire 
freedom  given  to  the  Veteran's  assistant  in  his  examination 
of  the  books. 


194       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Billings's  report  to  the  Veteran  was  in  accordance  with 
Daniel  Garvin's  statements  to  the  merchant.  He  had 
found  no  evidence  that  the  accounts  had  been  tampered 
with;  on  the  contrary,  all  appeared  in  regular  order. 
When?  therefore,  they  came  to  compare  the  report  with 
the  quotations  of  the  cotton  market  of  that  day,  they  saw 
naught  but  very  conclusive  evidence  that  Allen  Paige  must 
have  lost  by  his  venture  in  cotton.  * 

The  book-keeper,  who  had  looked  with  such  dismay  upon 
the  array  of  statements  in  the  inventories  filed  by  Cringar 
and  Garvin  at  the  Surrogate's  office,  viewed  with  equal 
dismay  the  result  of  his  visit  to  the  house  of  Baling  &  Co. 

The  Veteran  sat  in  deep  thought. 

Suddenly  he  seized  the  paper  on  which  Billings  had 
cautiously  transcribed  the  entries  from  Baling  &  Co.'s 
books,  and  fixing  his  eye  on  a  particular  portion  of  it,  he 
spoke  with  an  energy  which  almost  startled  his  companion. 

"  I  can  rely  on  every  word,  letter,  and  mark  ?  " 

"  You  can." 

"  These  marks  I  can  rely  upon  to  go  over  the  world 
with,  if  necessary  ?  " 

"  I  '11  stake  my  life  on  them  1 "  returned  the  book-keeper, 
surveying  the  Veteran  with  a  puzzled  air. 

"  Time  is  wasted  in  New  York !  Next  week  I  go  to 
Boston ! " 

The  book-keeper  looked  amazed ;  but  his  brief  aquaint- 
ance  had  taught  him  that  the  Veteran  was,  in  a  case  like 
this,  neither  to  be  fathomed  nor  questioned. 

On  the  same  afternoon  that  comrades  Marland  and  Eob- 
erts  were  entering  New  York  by  the  New  Jersey  Central 
the  Veteran  took  the  Fall  River  boat  for  Boston. 

This  man  of  a  former  cosmopolitan  life  was  always  glad 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       195 

to  see  his  native  town,  with  all  its  little  foibles,  and  crooked 
streets.  His  experience  in  the  wide  world  had,  in  his  later 
years,  taught  him  to  hold  in  profound  respect  the  character 
of  a  city  whose  voice  could  ever  be  depended  upon  in  the 
cause  of  the  great  humanity,  Like  some  stanch  old  uncle, 
who,  while  he  occasionally  entertains  his  neighbors  with 
his  innocent  conceits  and  happy  self-complacency,  yet  is 
held  in  profound  respect  by  all  lovers  of  their  fellow-men, 
so  seemed  tMs  good  old  city  of  Boston  to  its  no\fr  famous 
Thorbolt. 

But  the  Veteran  had  more  important  business  on  hand 
than  the  sentimental  contemplation  of  this  city  of  his 
birth.  *' 

At  an  early  hour  we  find  him  in  the  Merchants'  Ex 
change. 

"  Is  Mr.  Drammen  in  ? "  he  inquired. 

Drammen  was  a  Norwegian,  who  had  fought  with  a 
strong  arm  under  the  flag  of  his  adopted  country.  He 
now  had  charge  of  the  books  of  the  Exchange. 

The  Veteran  was  informed  that  he  was  out,  but  would 
be  in  soon. 

While  waiting  for  him  he  looked  over  the  gold  quota 
tions  of  the  previous  day,  which  had  not  yet  been  erased 
from  the  board.  This  gradually  led  him  into  a  revery,  in 
which  the  circumstances  and  incidents  associated  with  his 
present  mission  to  Boston  passed  one  by  one  in  review. 
These  quotations  brought  before  him  with  especial  vivid 
ness  the  gloomy  and  satanic  visage  of  Daniel  Garvin,  the 
Wall  Street  broker  —  who,  perchance,  had  swindled  some 
confiding  customer  by  means  of  those  very  figures  —  as 
it  had  appeared  before  him  in  that  home  which,  having 
driven  from  it  his  patriot  brother's  family,  he  now  defiled 
with  his  own  presence.  He  recalled  the  look  of  this 


196       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

heartless  schemer  while  he  questioned  him  on  that  stormy 
day,  —  a  look  in  which  ferocity  seemed  combined  with 
an  irrepressible  fear ;  and  a  look  also  that  had  fastened 
itself  deep  in  the  mind  of  him  who  was  now  in  revery, 
spurring  him  on  in  his  self-imposed  task  for  the  sake 
of  the  plotter's  victims.  That  distorted  visage  rose  above 
the  solid  phalanx  of  statements  and  figures  in  the  Sur 
rogate's  office ;  it  peered  over  the  entries  transcribed  from 
the  books  of  Baling  &  Co.,  its  ferocity  rousing  his  soul 
in  behalf  of  those  suffering  loved  ones  of  his  fallen  com 
rade, —  its  fear  fastening  upon  his  mind  the  conviction 
that  behind  all  statements,  figures,  and  entries  was  that 
weakness  of  guilt  which  an  unswerving  energy  might 
sooner  or  later  reach  and  confound. 

His  meditations  were  interrupted  by  Drammen,  who, 
having  returned,  was  informed  of  the  visitor's  desire  to  see 
him. 

The  Norwegian  clid  not  require  two  glances  to  tell  him 
that  a  soldier  stood  before  him.  The  greeting,  therefore, 
on  the  Veteran's  introducing  himself,  was,  though  between 
strangers,  as  warm  as  if  they  had  been  friends  for  twenty 
years. 

"  How  can  I  serve  you  ?  "  inquired  Drammen. 

"  By  allowing  me  to  see  the  reports  of  cotton  shipments 
from  New  York  for  the  summer  and  fall  of  1864." 

"  That  you  shall  see  at  once,"  replied  Drammen ;  and 
in  a  few  moments  he  brought  the  book  which  contained 
the  reports  of  the  arrival  of  merchandise  during  the 
period  mentioned  by  the  Veteran.  He  opened  the  book 
to  the  month  of  July,  1864,  and  then  excusing  himself 
for  a  few  moments,  left  the  Veteran  to  examine  it  at 
his  leisure. 

The  latter  instinctively  turned  several  leaves  at  once, 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  197 

which  brought  him  into  October.  Then  he  turned  slowly 
back. 

Scarcely  had  he  commenced  doing  so  when  his  eye 
caught  an  entry  of  111  bales  of  cotton,  to  0.  U.  Waite 
&  Co.  Even  his  strong  heart  sunk.  If  this  was  the  lot  of 
111  bales  bought  and  sold  by  Allen  Paige,  the  date  of  the 
arrival,  September  28th,  corroborated  Cringar's  and  Gar- 
vin's  statements.  At  this  time  the  market  had  been  fall 
ing  at  a  terrible  pace,  as  had  been  described  by  Garvin 
in  his  interview  with  Cringar,  the  week  previous,  at  his 
office  in  Wall  Street. 

Drammen  was  now  returning,  and  the  Veteran,  raising 
his  eyes  awaited  his  approach  with  a  calm,  grave  counte 
nance,  although  his  heart  was  secretly  troubled. 

"  This  is  all  the  information  to  be  obtained  from  your 
books  ? " 

"  It  is." 

The  Veteran  fingered  a  few  of  the  leaves,  and  as  he 
directed  his  eyes  again  to  the  book,  he  released  them, 
one  after  another,  in  an  abstracted  manner. 

He  started.  Great  as  was  his  self-command,  a -quick 
flush  appeared  on  either  cheek,  and  he  sharply  bent  the 
falling  leaf  as  he  threw  it  back. 

On  the  left-hand  page,  where  he  now  held  the  book 
open,  was  another  record  of  111  bales,  to  F.  Jaques  &  Co., 
and  this  date  was  August  25th  ! 

"  Comrade,"  he  said,  addressing  Drammen,  "I  am  here 
on  an  errand,  —  of  which  you  will  please  say  nothing,  — 
that  concerns  the  family  of  a  soldier.  I  find  recorded  in 
this  book  the  arrival  of  two  lots.  It  is  of  the  utmost  im 
portance  that  I  obtain  further  information  regarding  them. 
Can  I  not  obtain  it  of  the  parties  to  whom  they  were 
shipped  ? " 


198  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND- ARMY. 

"  I  think  you  can,"  answered  Drammen.  "  I  am  acquainted 
with  both  firms,  and  will  call  on  them  with  you  as  soon  as 
I  am  disengaged,  if  you  desire." 

"Thank  you.  It  would  be  a  great  favor.  How  soon 
will  you  be  at  liberty  ?  " 

"  In  an  hour." 

"  I  will  call  on  the  minute." 

"  I  will  be  ready  for  you." 

At  the  end  of  an  hour  the  Veteran  promptly  appeared, 
and  they  departed  on  their  errand,  which  to  the  Veteran 
contained  so  much  of  import. 

Waite .  &  Co.  were  near  at  hand,  on  Kilby  Street,  and 
thither  they  first  directed  their  steps. 

Neither  member-  of  the  firm  was  in,  but  both  were  ex 
pected  every  moment. 

While  waiting  in  the  office,  or  rather  room,  of  this  enter 
prising  house,  the  battle-scarred  warrior  had  an  opportunity 
of  witnessing  such  a  series  of  skirmishes  as  it  had  not 
before  been  his  good  fortune  to  behold. 

In  a  long  row  of  bins,  situated  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
which  extended  from  front  to  rear  of  the  building,  was 
thrown  loose  cotton  that  had  once  served  as  samples,  to 
gether  with  old  samples  still  rolled  up  in  their  papers,  and 
having,  to  the  Veteran's  military  eye,  the  appearance  of 
dismantled  guns.  On  a  counter  in  the  middle  of  the 
room  was  deposited  a  lot  ready  for  present  use,  while  the 
floor  about  him  was  white  with  others  exposed  to  view 
like  so  many  cotton  dumplings,  and  so  arranged  as  to 
receive  the  light  to  the  best  advantage.  Each  paper  con 
tained  as  many  samples  as  there  were  bales  to  be  sold, 
unless  the  number  of  the  latter  compelled  the  use  of  more 
than  one  paper,  which  was  exceptional. 

Presently  a  young  man  rushed  in  as  if  madness  had 
seized  him,  and  looking  wildly  about,  shouted,  — 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       199 

"  Where  's  Waite  ?    Where  's  Lookum  ? " 

"  Will  be  in  soon,"  answered  the  clerk. 

"  Can  sell  that  lot  of  a  hundred  and  fifty  bales  mid 
dling.  Must  have  it  right  away ! " 

"Who  to?" 

The  broker  —  for  such  was  the  excited  visitor  —  put  his 
forefinger  quickly  to  the  side  of  his  nose  in  an  inimitable 
manner,  'at  the  same  time  squinting  toward  the  door. 

This  significant  glance  was  explained  by  the  entrance  of 
a  second  broker  on  the  scene.  He  was  %lder  than  the  first, 
but  evidently  quite  as  active,  with  a  slight  tendency  to 
obesity,  which  indicated  a  happy  possession  of  what  was 
known  in  cotton  circles,  as  well  as  in  camp,  as  "  cheek." 

Without  any  ado  he  made  for  a  large  lot  of  the  opened 
samples,  and  turned  up  the  paper  to  read  the  marks. 

"  Eight  up  to  sample  ? "  said  he,  picking  a  bit  of  cotton 
from  one  of  the  cotton  dumplings,  and  drawing  the  staple 
rapidly  between  the  thumb  and  forefinger  of  each  hand, 
followed  by  a  vigorous  snap. 

"  Eight  straight  up  ! "  answered  the  clerk. 

Without  another  word  this  second  comer  proceeded  to 
roll  the  paper,  and  turn  in  the  ends  with  a  skill  only  at 
tained  by  cotton-men. 

"  Hallo ! "  cried  the  first,  reddening  with  anxiety  and 
anger,  "  who  told  you  you  might  have  those  samples  ? " 

"  Met  Waite  on  the  street  a  minute  and  a  half  ago,  and 
he  told  me  I  might  take  'em." 

"  Yes ! "  cried  the  younger  broker,  turning  toward  the 
clerk,  "  but  Lookum  promised  'em  to  me,  and  I  can  sell  'em 
too ! " 

"  What  time  ?  "  asked  the  clerk. 

"  He  said  I  might  have  'em  at  ten  o'clock." 

The  second  broker  laughed,  at  the  same  time  giving  the 


200       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

roll  a  swing  as  he  held  it  by  one  end,  and  bringing  it  to 
bear  like  a  small  cannon  upon  his  younger  competitor ;  and 
then  squinting  along  the  top  cried,  "  Bang ! "  with  so  loud 
and  abrupt  a  tone  that  even  the  Veteran,  whose  ears  had 
rang  with  thousands  of  cannon-peals,  started  in  his  chair. 

"  You  're  a  dead  man  !  "  exclaimed  this  facetious  broker. 
"  Don't  you  see  you  're  time  's  up  and  ten  minutes  to 
spare  ?  "  And  with  this  he  disappeared,  leaving  this  young 
competitor  standing  where  he  had  been  shot,  red  with  dis 
appointment,  and*chagrin  that  the  other  should  have  got 
the  better  of  him. 

"  Curse  that  Bummeer's  cheek ! "  he  spluttered  out,  to  the 
silent  amusement  of  the  Veteran.  "  Why  did  n't  you  stop 
him,  Philbut  ?  He  '11  sell  to  my  man  !  That 's  what  he  's 
after  !  0,  hang  his  confounded  cheek !  P-s-h !  I  'm  done 
for  on  that  job  !  He  '11  sell  him,  if  cheek  '11  do  it ! " 

The  clerk  laughed. 

Just  then  in  glided  another  broker,  with  a  look  as  if  he 
could  ferret  out  a  rat,  though  its  hole  ran  zigzag  through 
to  China.  Casting  a  look  of  contempt  on  his  young  brother 
of  the  craft,  and  a  glance  of  suspicion  at  the  Veteran, 
while  he  gave  a  slight  nod  to  Drammen,  he  went  straight 
up  to  the  clerk  and  whispered  in  his  ear. 

The  clerk  whispered  an  answer,  accompanying  it  by  a 
nod  at  .the  young  victim  of  another's  "  cheek,"  and  then 
sweeping  this  nod  around  to  the  door. 

The  new-comer  gnawed  his  lip,  and  glided  from  the 
room  with  a  swiftness  which  evidently  meant  sharp  compe 
tition  with  some  other  dealer's  samples. 

The  disappointed  applicant  cried  out,  as  this  man  slipped 
from  the  room,  — 

"  By  thunder !  I  bet  he  '11  settle  Bummeer's  hash  for  him 
yet !  He 's  on  the  soft  with  Evans,  and  '11  sell  to  him,  I'  11 
wager  coat,  hat,  and  boots  ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       201 

As  he  was  speaking  with  his  head  turned  to  the  clerk, 
in  danced  another  young  man  with  a  sort  of  hungry,  de 
vouring  look. 

"  Evans  after  cotton  ? "  he  exclaimed,  rushing  up,  and 
catching  the  speaker  by  the  arm.  "  By  Jove  !  —  say  !  — 
what  does  he  want  ?  I  took  supper  with  his  agent's  grand- 
.  father  yesterday.  I  can  sell  him,  you  bet !  What  does  he 
want  ? "  , 

"  0,  you  git ! "  cried  the  other.  "  Go  'nd  find  out  what 
he  wants !  And  then  get  the  cotton  if  you  can,  — .that  's 
what 's  the  matter  !  " 

In  their  eagerness  and  excitement  none  of  these  compet 
ing  brokers  had  paid  any  apparent  attention  to  the  presence 
of  the  Veteran  and  Drammen,  except  the  third  comer.  This 
gave  the  Grand  Army  hero  an  opportunity  of  resting,  by 
pleasant  observation,  a  mind  which  had  for  several  days 
been  severely  taxed  in  its  efforts  to  unravel  the  dark  and 
complicated  plot  which  the  subtle  brain  of  Daniel  Garvin 
had  woven  with  such  consummate  art.  To  a  man  of  his  ob 
servation  the  scene  he  had  just  witnessed  was  as  enjoyable 
and  recreative  as  a  comedy.  And  we  have  been  led  to 
delineate  this  little  episode,  from  a  sympathy  with  the  state 
of  tension  to  which  the  mind  of  this  hard  and  indefatigable 
mental  worker  for  the  good  of  others  had  been  brought. 
There  was  something,  too,  in  the  appearance  of  the  white, 
fleecy  cotton,  flung  about  like  foam  on  a  surf-beaten  shore, 
which  captivated  his  eye,  and  lent  its  aid  in  soothing  his 
mind. 

Soon  after  the  departure  of  the  fourth  broker  Waite  en 
tered,  and  on  recognizing  the  Veteran  came  forward  and 
shook  him  heartily  by  the  hand. 

9* 


202       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTEK   XXV. 

EKEEAL,"  said  the  cotton-dealer,  "  I  'm  very  glad  to 
see  you  ! " 

"  Thank  you." 

"  Is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you  ?  " 

"  I 've  called  on  you  for  a  slight  favor." 

"  I  'm  sorry  for  that.  I  was  .in  hopes  it  was  an  impor 
tant  favor.  I  am  continually  wishing  something  might 
turn  up  that  would  give  me  an  opportunity  of  returning 
your  kindness  to  me  in  Eebeldom." 

"  Say  nothing  about  it,  Mr.  Waite.  It  was  my  duty  to 
protect  you,  as  a  sound  Union  man.  Nothing  pleased  me 
more,  while  in  this  Eebeldom  you  speak  of,  than  to  see  an 
out-and-out  cotton  man  that  was  an  out-and-out  Union 
man." 

The  Veteran,  at  one  time  in  the  Southwest,  had  rendered 
an  important  service  to  Mr.  Waite,  who  was  down  there 
buying  cotton  under  the  protection  of  the  government,  and 
who,  at  the  time  of  the  service,  was  threatened  with  ruin 
through  suspicion  excited  by  a  rival  cotton-buyer,  of  being 
in  treasonable  intercourse  with  the  enemy.  It  was  only 
through  the  good  judgment  and  decision  of  the  Veteran 
that  he  escaped. 

"  Well,  if  you  don't  want  anything  said  about  it  I  won't 
say  it ;  but  make  the  favors  I  can  do  for  you  as  large  as 
possible." 

"  Thank  you  again.  The  fact  is,  though  I  remarked  it 
was  a  slight  favor  I  had  to  ask  of  you,  I  will  do  it  the  jus 
tice  to  say  it  is  of  great  importance  to  me."  • 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       203 

"  Well,  I  'm  glad  of  that.     Now  please  name  it." 

"  It  is  that  you  let  me  look  at  your  invoice  book  for 
September,  1864.  A  lot  of  one  hundred  and  eleven  bales 
of  cotton  arrived  on  the  28th  of  that  month  for  you." 

"  Yes,"  returned  the  cotton-dealer,  laughing,  "  I  recollect 
it  very  well.  I  lost  more  money  than  it  would  take  to 
buy  a  first-class  farm  by  that  lot  of  cotton.  You  see  it 
came  down  reeling  from  a  dollar  ninety  to  a  dollar  eighty, 
and  there  it  tumbled  about  awhile,  and  then  took  a  long 
downward  lurch  to  one  fifty.  The  day  it  stood  there  I  got 
a  telegram  from  New  York  that  a  party  who  had  one  hun 
dred  and  eleven  bales  was  thoroughly  demoralized,  with  a 
good  many  others,  and  would  sell  five  cents  less  than  market 
pric^e  to  get  rid  of  it.  Well,  I  'm  willing  to  acknowledge  that 
I  was  fool  enough  to  think  that  the  market  would  get  sober 
again,  stop  its  reeling  and  tumbling,  and  take  another 
flight  upward,  so  I  telegraphed  on  to  buy  it,  intending 
to  hold  it.  And  hold  it  I  did,  till  it  burned  my  fingers 
to  the  bone." 

This  rapid  account  by  the  cotton-dealer  fell  with  the 
weight  of  lead  on  the  ear  of  his  listener.  It  was  in  striking 
accordance  with  the  reports  of  Garvin  which  he  had  gath 
ered,  confirmed  as  they  were  by  the  copy  Billings  had  made 
from  the  books  of  Baling  &  Co. 

In  the  mean  time  Waite  had  obtained  the  invoice  book 
the  Veteran  desired.  The  latter  opened  to  the  entry  he 
sought,  and  then  with  a  long-drawn  breath  proceeded  to 
copy  it  into  his  memorandum-book. 

The  cotton-dealer  was  too  well-bred  to  ask  any  questions 
on  the  strength  of  the  privilege  he  was  granting  his  former 
benefactor. 

The  Veteran,  on  his  part,  simply  said, 

•"  Mr.  Waite,  I  am  greatly  obliged  to  you.     At  a  future 


204       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GKAND  AEMY. 

time  I  may  be  free  to  make  known  to  you  my  object  for 
this  —  as  it  probably  seems  to  you  —  rather  strange  visit. 
I  wish" to  ask  a  similar  favor  of  Messrs.  Jaques  &  Co.  Do 
you  think  they  will  grant  it  ?  " 

"  I  at  least  will  accompany  you  with  pleasure,  if  you 
desire,  and  open  the  way,"  replied  the  cotton-dealer,  with 
an  air  that  indicated  probable  difficulty. 

"  Very  good,"  said  Drammen.  "  General,  I  should  be 
glad  to  accompany  you,  but  the  truth  is,  Mr.  Waite  can  do 
more  for  you  than  I,  and  I  am  therefore  glad  to  resign  you 
into  his  hands.  If  convenient  to  you,  I  shall  be  very  much 
pleased  to  learn  if  you  find  all  you  desire." 

"  You  shall  know,  comrade,  and  many  thanks  to  you," 
responded  the  Veteran,  shaking  him  warmly  by  the  ha^nd. 

This  large-hearted  sailor  then  returned  to  his  duties  at 
the  News  Rooms,  and  the  cotton-dealer  departed  with  his 
charge  for  the  house  of  Jaques  &  Co. 

"Jaques  is  a  little  sore  on  the  soldier  business,"  said 
Waite,  as  he  led  the  way  to  his  brother  dealer's  rooms. 
"  He  's  lost  money  by  them." 

"How 's  that?"    ' 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,  he  got  bitten  a  good  deal  worse  than 
I  did,  and  all  because  he  would  n't  believe  the  South  could 
be  subdued.  He  made  money  in  the  first  of  it  because  he 
judged  more  correctly  than  a  good  many  others  that  the 
South  would  fight  longer  than  ninety  days,  and  would  make 
downright  war  of  it ;  so  he  laid  in  cotton,  and  sold  at  an 
immense  profit.  But  you  see  he  pinned  his  faith  at  the 
wrong  .end,  when  he  went  about  declaring  that  Sherman 
would  be  destroyed,  and  Grant  was  a  humbug,  and  Lee 
would  whip  them  out  yet.  He  lost  money  by  it.  Then, 
again,  after  Lee's  surrender  he  fastened  on  the  guerillas, 
and  those  kind  of  fellows  who  started  the  Ku  Klux,  and 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  205 

prophesied  such  a  state  of  anarchy  that  cotton  could  n't  be 
raised,  which  would  bring  the  price  up  again.  But  his 
guerillas  were  soon  disposed  of ;  and  I  happened  to  be  in 
the  Southwest  when  this  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic, 
that 's  springing  up  over  the  land,  settled  the  Ku  Klux 
business  in  Mississippi,  Tennessee,  and  thereabouts,  as  quick 
as  lightning  is  quicker  than  a  lame  cow." 

"  Yes,  the  Grand  Army  did  a  good  work  there,"  responded 
the  Veteran. 

"  It  's  a  fine  institution,  this  Grand  Army  of  the  Repub 
lic  ;  and  for  one  I  think  it 's  high  time  that  the  soldiers 
formed  such  an  organization,"  continued  the  cotton-dealer. 
"  I  have  done  what  I  could  for  the  families  of  fallen  sol 
diers,  because  I  promised  to  do  so  when  these  brave  fellows 
left  them  in  our  charge.  But  the  difficulty  is  to  find  them 
out.  They  are  mostly  people  who  are  not  given  to  begging 
any  more  than  you  or  I ;  and  it  is  a  fact  that  many  a 
family,  in  a  most  distressing  condition,  is  unwilling  to 
compete  with  forward  beggars,  who  always  stand  ready  to 
impose  themselves  upon  the  charitable  whether  they  are 
needy  or  not.  But,  as  I  understand  this  Grand  Army 
business,  they  are  formed  so  as  to  bring  organized  work 
into  the  field,  and  act,  so  to  speak,  as  responsible  agents 
of  the  public,  who  through  them  can  be  sure  of  giv 
ing  aid  where  it  ifelongs,  and  thus  intelligently  keep  their 
promises.  Certain  acquaintances  of  mine  are  down  on  this 
organization,  but  between  you  and  me,  they  did  n't  do  much 
for  the  Union ;  and  I  happen  to  know  that  the  families  of 
our  fallen  braves  might  go  a  long  way  toward  starvation 
before  they  would  get  any  help  from  them.  This  G.  A.  R, 
as  you  call  it,  has  taken  root  in  Boston,  and  my  calcula 
tions  are  out  if  it  does  n't  flourish  like  a  green  bay-tree." 

"  I  'm  pleased  to  hear  you  speak,  as  a  citizen,  in  such 
strong  and  just  terms  of  our  Order,"  said  the  Veteran. 


206  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  I  take  it  you  're  a  member,  General  ? " 

"  I  am.     I  joined  in  the  West." 

"  Glad  to  know  it.  Excuse  me  for  saying  that  my  expe 
rience  with  you  on  the  Mississippi  assures  me  that  the 
Order  and  its  objects  will  not  suffer  from  your  hands." 

"  I  thank  you.  I  shall  endeavor  to  do  all  that  lies  in. 
my  power  for  an  organization  which  I  know  every  Ameri 
can,  loyal  at  heart,  will  sustain  when  he  conies  to  under 
stand  it." 

"  True  ! "  responded  the  cotton-dealer.  Then  studying 
the  Veteran  for  a  moment,  he  said  to  himself,  "  One  such 
man  is  enough  to  give  the  lie  to  a  thousand  vilifiers  of 
the  association  which  he  so  nobly  represents." 

They  now  arrived  at  the  rooms  of  Jaques  &  Co. 

Here  the  Veteran  had  another  opportunity  of  observing 
the  peculiar  rush  and  scramble  of  the  cotton  brokerage 
business,  which,  as  one  of  the  results  of  the  war,  had  been 
transformed  from  a  business  whereby  a  few  strong  and  in 
fluential  houses  had  been  built  up  in  the  mercantile  com 
munity,  to  an  occupation  in  which  vastly  increased  num 
bers  contended,  each  separate  day,  for  such  morsels  as 
might  be  offered  them ;  though  there  still  remained  those 
old  houses  to  remind  one  of  what  had  been. 

Jaques,  who  had  been  engaged  in  his  private  office,  soon 
joined  his  visitors,  and  Waite  made  known  the  object  of 
their  call. 

This  speculator  had,  as  Waite  had  said,  lost  much  money 
through  the  courage  and  pertinacity  of  the  Northern  sol 
dier,  and  the  Veteran  did  not  fail  to  detect  an  expression 
of  annoyance  as  he  was  introduced  by  his  military  title. 

"  You  would  like  to  look  at  my  books  ?  Humph !  an 
unusual  request  from  a  stranger,  sir." 

"  I  grant  it,  Mr.  Jaques,"  said  the  Veteran  with  a  dig- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  207 

nified  courtesy,  which,  in  combination  with  the  air  of  na 
ture's  royalty  that  sat  upon  his  face,  began  at  once  to  affect 
the  somewhat  irascible  and  very  suspicious  Jaques. 

Jaques  was  also  made  to  feel,  by  the  presence  and  man 
ner  of  this  man,  that  he  was  likely  to  make  a  fool  of  him 
self  by  any  useless  attempt  at  "  bluff,"  which  speculators 
are  apt  to  indulge  in.  He  had  seen  enough  of  human 
nature  to  perceive  that  his  strange  visitor  was  not  one  to 
be  easily  baffled  or  trifled  with;  and  though  himself  a 
strong  man,  he  could  not  entirely  suppress  a  feeling  of 
admiration,  conflicting  with  his  annoyance  at  sight  of  a 
leader  of  Union  soldiery,  as  he  viewed  this  noble  speci 
men  of  manhood. 

The  Veteran  in  the  mean  time  contemplated  the  cotton 
speculator  (such  we  entitle  Jaques  in  contradistinction  to 
the  term  cotton  dealer .as  applied  to  Waite,  the  latter  having 
always  been  engaged  in  cotton  as  a  business,  while  the 
former  simply  took  it  up  after  the  war  opened  as  a  specu 
lation)  with  the  solicitous  attention  of  one  who  feels  that 
much  is  at  stake,  in  what  he  judged  might  appear  to  Jaques 
as  an  inquisitive  and  impertinent  request,  and  of  a  charac 
ter  naturally  repugnant  to  all  speculators,  especially  one  of 
Jaques's  business  predilections.  He  questioned  to  himself 
whether  he  should  not  make  known  to  Jaques  what  he 
wished  to  transcribe  from  his  books,  and  render  his  request 
more  simple  by  asking  him  to  do  it  for  him ;  but  his  mili 
tary  experience  at  once  gave  the  negative,  until,  at  least, 
he  had  pushed  the  speculator  to  the  utmost  on  the  original 
request ;  for  this  experience  had  made  him  wary  of  plots, 
and  all  that  appertained  to  them;  and,  working  in  the 
dark  as  he  was,  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  judge  how 
far  the  ramifications  of  the  subtle  Garvin's  schemes  might 
have  extended  in  the  direction  of  this  very  speculator,  who 


208  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

perhaps  held  in  his  books  the  identical  secret,  which,  if  the* 
astute  broker  had  been  wise  enough  to  foresee  all  the  pos 
sible  contingencies  connected  with  his  nefarious  business 
(this,  however,  being  where  the  profoundest  scoundrels  are 
weak),  he  might  have  provided  against  by  enlisting  the 
speculative  Jaques  in  his  interest,  —  though  it  is  but  justice 
to  Jaques  to  remark,  that  it  could  have  been  done  only  by 
means  of  artful  lies,  as  he  was  evidently  not  a  man  to 
knowingly  assist  Garvin  in  his  damnable  undertaking. 

"  I  assure  you,  sir,"  he  said  after  a  pause,  "  I  would  not 
ask  this  favor,  unusual  as  it  must  appear  to  you,  if  it  did 
-  not  have  to  do  with  important  business  which  I  am  not  at 
liberty  to  even  hint  at  just  now,  but  which  I  pledge  you 
does  not  compromise  nor  in  the  least  affect  you." 

"  Mr.  Jaques,"  interposed  Waite,  "  my  experience  with 
General  Hammond  enables  me  to  indorse,  heart  and  hand, 
any  assurance  he  may  give  you.  It  was  he,  if  you  will 
recollect,  who  saved  me  from  ruin,  down  South,  in  sixty- 
four." 

The  cotton  speculator's  face  relaxed. 

"  My  friend  does  not  allow  himself  to  forget  that,"  said 
the  Veteran,  while  a  smile  flitted  over  his  features.  "  Please 
consider  it  nothing  but  an  officer's  duty ;  who,  if  he  had 
not  been  under  the  fear  of  a  court-martial,  might  have 
demanded  half  the  proceeds  of  that  venture  of  Mr.  Waite' s 
as  a  condition  of  performing  it." 

Waite  shook  his  head,  and  Jaques's  face  relaxed  yet 
more. 

"  I  believe,"  continued  the  Veteran,  perceiving  this  to  be 
the  moment  for  the  final  charge,  "  that  you  will  grant  me 
the  favor  when  I  tell  you  that  perhaps  it  may  lead, to  as 
important  results  in  behalf  of  others,  whom  I  cannot  now 
name,  as  was  the  result  of  my  official  action  in  behalf 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       209 

of  our  friend,  Mr.  Waite.  Come  to  me,  sir,  and  ask  to 
look  over  my  own  books  as  an  idle  pastime,  or  from  some 
private  motive  which  I  am  not  sure  will  not  compromise 
me,  and  you  may  depend  upon  a  positive  denial ;  but  as 
sure  me,  as  a  man  of  honor,  that  much  good  to  others  may 
result,  and  that  it  shall  not  affect  me  in  the  least,  and,  sir, 
you  shall  be  welcome  to  look  from  beginning  to  end." 

The  cotton  speculator,  whose  eyes  had  been  riveted  on 
the  Veteran's  commanding  features,  which  sent  forth  the 
influence  of  his  strong  will  as  he  spoke,  now  gave  vent  to  a 
quick,  yielding  laugh. 

"  General,"  he  said,  "  I  make  no  pretence  of  love  for  the 
Northern  soldier ;  on  the  other  hand,  I  owe  him  a  grudge. 
But  you  have  prevailed,  and  what  no  outsider  has  done  yet 
I  '11  permit  you  to  do.  You  can  look  at  my  books." 

"  Thank  you.  I  simply  desire  to  look  at  your  invoices  for 
the  summer  and  fall  of  1864." 

"  Look  through  the  whole  if  you  want  tp,"  laughed 
Jaques,  who  only  offered  another  example  of  the  effective 
power  of  the  Veteran's  magnetic  will.  Then  ordering  one 
of  the  book-keepers  to  furnish  his  visitor  with  what  he 
desired,  he  entered  into  conversation  with  his  friend,  the 
cotton-dealer. 

The  Veteran  being  furnished  with  the  entries  of  ar 
rivals,  turned  to  August  25th,  1864. 

At  the  instant  his  eye  fell  upon  the  record  Jaques  hap 
pened  to  glance  toward  him. 

"  Waite ! "  he  exclaimed  under  his  breath  •  "  look  at 
your  friend,  the  General ! " 

The  cotton-dealer  looked,  and  he  with  Jaques  beheld  the 
Veteran  with  his  eye  seeming  to  pour  out  his  whole  great 
soul  upon  the  page  before  him,  and  then  suddenly  change  to 
an  expression  which,  to  their  astonished  gaze,  seemed  fraught 

N 


210        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

with  impending  retribution  to  some  object  of  his  thoughts ; 
while  his  right  hand,  with  which  he  had  turned  the  leaves, 
was  clenched  as  if  he  held  a  sabre  in  his  grasp. 

This  was  only  for  a  moment.  As  suddenly  as  they  had 
before  Changed,  his  features  now  assumed  that  air  of  settled 
sternness,  so  habitual  to  them  when  he  contemplated  the  ac 
complishment  of  important  work  demanding  powerful  will 
and  energy. 

•  Then  he  took  his  memorandum-book,  and  they  saw  him 
copy  the  record  with  a  motion  of  his  pencil  which  seemed 
at  each  stroke  as  though  it  must  leave  a  mark  that  could 
never  be  effaced. 

When  he  had  finished  transcribing  he  scanned  both  origi 
nal  and  copy  with  great  care,  as  if  each  separate  line  were 
an  object  of  his  scrutiny,  and  then  closed  the  book  with  an 
action  as  though  he  would  securely  shut  the  page  from 
the  curious  eyes  of  men. 

That  evening,  after  notifying  his  comrade  at  the  Ex 
change  as  he  had  -promised,  he  took  the  express-train  for 
New  York. 


CHAPTEK    XXVI. 

WHILE   plots  and  counter-plots   are  opposing  each 
other  under  the  direction  of  minds  subtle,  power 
ful,  and  persevering,  we  will  visit  the  present  abode  of 
wretched  unfortunates  who  have  indirectly  fallen  victims 
to  the  machinations  of  one  of  these  minds. 
•  We  enter  Baxter  Street,  and  ascend  a  dilapidated  tene 
ment,  in  front  of  which  a  crowd  of  ragged  and  dirty  chil 
dren  are  amusing  themselves  by  hooting  after  a  drunkard, 
every  now  and  then  one  bolder  than  the  rest  running  up 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       211 

and  pelting  him  with  handfuls  of  the  filth  and  garbage 
which  here  reek  with  pestilential  odors. 

We  mount  flight  after  flight,  the  banisters  here  and 
there  broken  away,  and  threatening  each  moment  to  yield 
under  our  hands,  while  the  rickety  stairs  shake  beneath 
our  weight  at  every  step. 

Finally  after  occasional  halts,  from,  an  instinctive  fear 
that  the  stairs  are  really  about  to  give  way  beneath  us,  we 
reach  the  attic  floor  of  the  tenement,  where  we  perceive  two 
doors  hanging  so  loosely  to  their  hinges  and  fastenings 
that  a  child,  if  he  should  desire  to  enter  as  a  burglar,  could 
break  them  down  with  his  slight  weight. 

We  knock  at  the  first  door.  There  is  no  response.  We 
glance  through  the  cracks,  and  judging  it  is  empty,  we  do 
not  lift  the  latch,  but  proceed  to  the  second  door. 

We  knock  at  this  also.  Presently  it  is  opened,  and  we 
step  into  the  midst  of  one  of  those,  scenes  of  woe  which 
in  the  great  city  of  New  York  abound  in  such  pitiable 
numbers,  and  yet  of  which  comparatively  so  few  are 
known  to  those  who  would  reduce  them. 

In  a  low  garret,  not  more  than  twelve  feet  square,  the 
roof  broken  and  gaping,  and  the  shattered  skylight  scarcely 
admitting  one  dull  ray  through  the  mass  of  old  rags  and 
paper  which  bulge  from  the  warped  sashes,  while  a  cold, 
drizzling  rain  imparts  a  penetrating  chill  to  the  noxious 
air,  —  in  this  fireless,  exposed  and  almost  sunless  garret 
were  huddled  together  the  unfortunate  family  of  the  soldier 
Joseph  Deering.  t 

In  one  corner,  on  an  old  tattered  mattress,  lay  an  ema 
ciated  lad,  hardly  covered  by  the  rags  which  served  as  a 
quilt,  whom  it  would  be  difficult  to  recognize  as  that  noble 
boy  we  have  formerly  seen  to  sustain  the  spirits  of  his 
mother  with  such  exemplary  fortitude,  and  on  whom  his 
little  sisters  had  learned  to  look  as  a  protector. 


212  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY. 

Bending  over  him  is  his  mother,  scarcely  less  emaciated 
than  himself,  giving  him  a  drink  from  a  stained  earthen 
mug,  while  at  the  foot  of  the  mattress  sits  Mary  and  the 
little  crippled  sister,  shivering  under  their  scanty  clothes, 
their  childish  faces  gaunt  with  want  and  starvation.  The 
garments  of  mother  and  children  seem  in  perfect  keep 
ing  with  the  dreary  garret,  so  worn,  so  thin,  and  tattered 
are  they. 

The  soul  yearns  to  fly  to  their  rescue,  and  the  heart 
bleeds  in  the  contemplation  of  this  harrowing  scene.  But 
we  cannot  help  them,  for  it  is  only  by  our  mental  vision  that 
we  behold  them.  Solid  feet  of  flesh  and  blood  must  ascend 
those  shaking  stairs ;  a  real  hand  must  raise  the  broken 
latch ;  a  face  that  actually  pales  at  sight  of  this  group,  and 
eyes  that  actually  see  'them,  and  fill  with  pitying  tears, 
must  appear  at  the  dilapidated  door  before  aid  can  come 
to  them. 

Misfortune  has  driven  these  unhappy  beings  downward 
with  a  swift  and  relentless  hand.  Since  we  last  beheld 
them  their  course  to  this  appalling  stage  of  destitution  has 
been  like  a  benighted  traveller  tumbling  headlong  down 
some  rugged  precipice. 

Sickness  had  seized  the  mother  while  they  lived  on  the 
Bowery,  and,  unable  to  pay  the  rent  of  even  these  dingy 
lodgings,  they  were  compelled  to  take  yet  meaner  quarters. 
Here  they  had  just  begun  to  eke  out  a  miserable  existence 
through  the  little  that  Joseph  was  able  to  earn  by  vending 
candy  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  Eoad,  when  this  devoted 
boy  was  himself  prostrated,  and  they  were  heartlessly  driv 
en  forth,  the  mother  wan,  emaciated,  broken-hearted,  and 
poor  Joseph  stooping,  tottering,  and  nearly  blind  with 
his  fever,  to  find  a  refuge  in  this  cold  and  gloomy  garret, 
where  starvation  has  caught  them  in  its  tightening  gripe, 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       213 

and  Death  stands  waiting  with  his  grim  and  sombre  pres 
ence. 

When  Mrs.  Deering  was  taken  sick  Joseph  went  to 
West  Twenty-Seventh  Street  to  see  Mrs.  Paige,  whom  he 
had  not  visited  for  several  weeks,  but  on  whom  he  had 
promised  to  call  at  the  time  he  announced  to  her  his  situa 
tion  as  candy-vender,  if  they  should  be  threatened  with  new 
difficulties ;  for  though  Allen  Paige's  widow  was  then  suf 
fering  from  the  effects  of  her  interview  with  Cringar  and 
Garvin,  she  did  not  forgot  the  family  of  that  other  soldier 
who  had  fallen  in  the  same  cause  which  had  claimed  the 
life  of  her  own  husband. 

This  sensitive  boy  was  met  at  the  door,  as  was  the  Vet 
eran,  by  the  man,  who  had,  in  his .  youthful  mind,  seemed 
the  incarnation  of  those  diabolical  fiends  of  which  he  had 
often  read  in  his  story-books. 

"  Boy ! "  cried  Garvin,  who,  on  opening  the  door,  beheld 
the  lad  that  had  so  penetrated  his  guilty  conscience  with 
his  look  on  his  former  visit  to  this  house,  —  "  boy !  what 
do  you  want  here  ?  " 

Joseph  was  nigh  staggering  backward  down  the  steps,  as 
he  was  thus  greeted  by  the  voice  and  visage  of  this  malev 
olent  being,  whose  presence  was  so  abhorrent  to  his  sensi 
tive  mind.  Steadying  himself,  however,  he  asked  in  a  tone 
which,  though  determined,  quivered  with  his  emotions,  — 

"  Is  Mrs.  Paige  within  ?  " 

"  Mrs.  Paige,  you  young  vagabond ! "  replied  the  broker, 
showing  his  teeth.  "  What  do  you  mean  by  your  imperti 
nence  ?  Mrs.  Paige  is  poorer  than  you  are  —  do  you  under 
stand  ? —  and  is  probably  begging!  —  do  you  understand 
me,  boy  ? "  (Joseph  stood  staring  with  amazement  and 
grief,  but  could  utter  no  response.)  "  And  be  off  with  you 
and  do  likewise  !  but  dare  to  come  here  again  to  do  it  and 
I  '11  shut  you  up  in  jail !  " 


214  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  She  don't  live  here,  then  ? "  stammered  Joseph,  who 
was  determined  to  have  an  answer  to  his  question,  not 
withstanding  his  injured  pride,  his  grief  and  confusion. 

"  You  young  scapegrace  ! "  exclaimed  Garvin,  showing  a 
few  more  of  his  teeth,  "  this  house  is  occupied  by  me  !  t)id 
I  not  just  tell  you  that  she  was  poorer  than  you  are  ?  No, 
you  impudent  soldier's  cub,  she  does  not  live  here !  She 
lodges  as  you  do  !  —  Be  off ! " 

"Where  —  " 

Before  Joseph,  who  had  wonderful  persistence,  could  say 
any  more,  Garvin  slammed  the  door  in  his  face,  and  the 
confounded  boy  heard  his  vindictive  footsteps  receding 
through  the  hall. 

When  Mrs.  Deering  heard  from  the  lips  of  her  son  the 
recital  of  what  we  have  just  related,  her  heart  beat  in 
sympathy  and  sorrow  for  those  who  had  been  in  the  past 
so  kind  to  them,  and  her  own  trials  were  for  the  mo 
ment  forgotten  in  the  thought  of  their  probable  suffer 
ings  ;  and  the  first  impulse  was  to  urge  her  bey  to  try  if 
he  could  not  make  enough  at  his  candy- vending  and  occa 
sional  choring  to  enable  them  to  offer  some  return  to 
these  friends,  who  in  their  prosperity  had  been  so  kind 
to  them. 

But,  alas!  Joseph's  sickness  forbade  even  the  first  ef 
fort  toward  carrying  out  so  noble  an  impulse,  an'd  now, 
instead  of  proffering  a  testimonial  of  their  gratitude  to 
those  who  had  so  often  aided  'them,  they  are  presented  to 
our  eyes  in  a  state  of  such  deep  despair  that  it  would  seem 
as  if  thoughts  of  the  world  around  them  had  ceased  to 
move  their  souls. 

At  the  instant  our  gaze  fell  upon  them  the  mother  was 
moistening  the  parched  lips  of  her  boy  with  water  from 
the  earthen  mug.  She  knelt  by  the  side  of  the  tattered 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  215 

mattress,  which  was  stretched  on  the  floor,  there  being  no 
bed  or  other  furniture  except  a  single  broken  chair. 

Joseph,  wh«se  head  she  slightly  raised,  took  a  little 
of  the  water,  and  then  fell  back  exhausted  and  painfully 
gasping. 

Mrs.  Deering  passed  her  thin,  worn  hand  over  his  fore 
head. 

He  turned  his  eyes  toward  her,  and  even  in  his  helpless 
condition  his  tender  filial  care  and  affection  displayed  it 
self. 

"  Mother,"  he  murmured,  scarcely  able  to  speak  above  a 
whisper,  while  his  voice  was  broken  by  his  ominous  gasps, 
"  your  poor  —  thin  arm  trembles  —  very  much.  Don't 
please  trouble  —  yourself  any  —  more  for  me." 

This  arm  was  the  one  on  which  she  rested,  as  she  bent 
over  him. 

The  mother  remained  silent,  her  arm  still  trembling  un 
der  its  but  too  slight  weight,  while  her  hollow  eyes  looked 
as  -if  tears  had  ceased  to  flow  from  their  exhausted  foun 
tains. 

Joseph  again  spoke. 

"  Thank  you,  —  dear  mother.  —  I  —  feel  —  better  . — 
now  "  ;  and  then  with  an  effort  that  sadly  contradicted  his 
words,  he  turned  his  head  away,  and  lay  like  one  dying. 

She  withdrew  the  hand,  and  letting  it  drop  mechanically 
upon  the  mattress,  raised  her  tearless  eyes  to  heaven. 

Her  appearance  at  this  moment  would  have  excited  in 
the  breast  of  the  beholder  the  deepest  commiseration. 
Kneeling  there  on  the  floor  of  that  desolate  garret,  with 
either  hand  resting  on  the  torn  mattress,  her  thin,  gaunt 
form  bent  with  suffering,  while  it  perceptibly  shivered  with 
the  cold,  damp,  penetrating  air,  and  her  sick  boy  lying  be 
fore  her  wasted  ni^h  unto  death  with  both  fever  and  star- 


216       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

vation,  —  all  this  was  of  a  character  to  awaken  in  the  soul 
the  profoundest  pity,  not  unmingled  with  a  feeling  as  if 
death  in  this  group  was  making  itself  visible.  But  as  the 
gaze  rested  on  her  upturned  eyes,  there  was  presented  in 
the  whole  a  picture  in  which  was  realized  the  appalling 
solemnity  of  the  spirit,  still  confined  within  its  earthly 
tabernacle,  reaching  out  beyond  the  dark  presence  of  im 
pending  death,  and  pouring  forth  the  awful  anguish  of  its 
tearless,  almost  emotionless  despair  into  that  invisible  world, 
which  seemed  to  have  closed  in  upon  her  while  the  visible 
had  receded  from  her  presence. 

The  endless  turmoil  of  the  great  metropolis,  the  strug 
gles  of  ambition,  the  strife  for  wealth,  all  vain  displays, 
and  acts  of  hardened  pride,  pass  in  imagination  by  this 
silent  figure  of  despair,  and  in  the  contrast  appear  an 
empty,  mocking  train,  —  shadows,  as  it  were,  before  the 
dread  reality. 

A  human  being,  driven  by  incessant  blows  of  misfortune 
to  the  uttermost  depths  of  poverty  and  desolation,  in  the 
midst  of  a  great  community,  as  hopeless  of  aid  as  the  dy 
ing  wanderer  lost  in  some  boundless  desert,  is  an  object 
that  never  fails  to  move  the  most  hardened  heart,  —  un 
less  it  be  of  some  monster  who  may  have  worked  for  the 
accomplishment  of  this  very  end,  —  and  the  cry  of  sym 
pathy  and  horror  which  goes  up  throughout  the  land, 
when  such  a  case  is  discovered  and  made  known,  is  the 
strongest  evidence  that  the  great  public  heart  is  equal  to 
the  prevention,  through  charity,  of  this  suffering,  if  efficient 
means  are  but  adopted  to  bring  it  before  the  public  eye. 

As  this  desolate  and  dying  mother  of  sick  and  dying 
children  thus  remains  without  motion,  her  eyes  cast  toward 
heaven  with  the  glassiness  of  that  last  terrible  moment, 
when  the  soul  prepares  itself  for  insanity  or  death,  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        217 

heart  of  one  who  looks  upon  this  scene  is  torn  with  sym 
pathetic  grief. 

By  one  of  those  coincidences  which  so  often  occur,  and 
which  seem  to  have  assigned  to  them  a  special  part  in  the 
great  drama  of  humanity,  we  see  the  two  mothers  of  the 
soldiers'  families  which  occupy  so  prominent  a  place  in  our 
narration,  each  brought  first  to  a  state  of  privation  by  the 
death  of  the  husband  and  father,  and  then  plunged  into  the 
darkness  of  sorrow  by  the  dangerous  illness  of  her  darling 
boy.  But,  oh !  if  Mrs.  Paige,  when  her  heart  was  wellnigh 
breaking  with  grief,  could  have  had  suddenly  revealed  to 
her  by  the  hand  of  Heaven  the  appalling  anguish  of  this 
other  soldier's  widow,  her  heart  would  have  forgotten  its 
own  agony  in  pity  for  her  sister's  woe. 

While  this  unhappy  widow  of  the  soldier — whose  bones 
were  mouldering  near  the  spot  where  he  fell  in  defence  of 
the  Union  —  was  thus  transfixed  by  her  mute  despair,  her 
dying  boy  lay  silent,  as  he  had  turned  when  she  withdrew 
her  hand  from  his  head. 

Presently  he  turned  back  sufficiently  to  cast  his  feeble 
glance  upon  his  mother.  As  he  did  so  his  gaze  became 
suddenly  fastened  on  her  uplifted  face,  and  two  tears  com 
menced  rolling  down  his  emaciated  cheeks. 

"  Mother ! "  he  uttered  in  his  weak,  gasping  tones,  "  dear 
mother  !  look  on  your  boy  Joseph  !  " 

The  mother  continued  for  an  instant  fixed  in  the  atti 
tude  in  which  Joseph  had  beheld  her.  Then  a  quiver 
shook  her  frame,  and  her  glassy  eyes  were  directed  to  her 
boy. 

A  divine  smile  rested  on  his  worn  and  pallid  countenance ; 
and  while  the  tears  were  slowly  stealing  down  his  cheeks, 
his  eyes  beamed  with  a  light  that  seemed  the  reflection  of 
heaven. 

10 


218  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

When  she  looked  down  upon  him  he  turned  his  gaze 
upward,  and  in  a  voice  which,  though  labored,  was  per 
vaded  by  an  ineffable  sweetness,  he  said,  — 

"  Dear  mother,  God  is  near  !  " 

The  poor  woman  continued  to  look  at  him  with  tearless 
eyes,  while  her  body  bent  gradually  toward  him. 

He  again  turned  his  gaze  upon  her,  and  his  heaven- 
full  eye  beamed  into  hers. 

At  that  instant  she  thought  she  heard  angels  singing 
in  the  air  above  her.  Through  the  broken  roof  the  heavenly 
visitors  seemed  to  come  and  go,  —  coming  to  behold,  and 
going  to  bring  others  that  they  might  see  her  boy  Joseph, 
who  was  so  much  like  them ;  who,  ever  being  so  near  to 
God,  could  never  know  the  chastisement  of  despair. 

Her  eyes  were  fastened  upon  his  for  a  while,  dry  and  with 
no  motion  of  the  lids,  while  all  the  time  the  presence  of  the 
angels  seemed  to  her  a  beautiful  reality. 

"Mother,"  again  said  Joseph,  "father  is  very  near  to 
us!" 

On  the  utterance  of  these  words  the  mother's  lids  began 
to  relax,  dampness  suffused  those  eyes  which  had  given  such 
dread  signs  of  an  impending  mortal  wreck,  and  lifting  her 
right  hand  from  the  mattress  she  placed  it  on  Joseph's  head. 
Then,  as  the  tears  slowly  welled  up  from  those  fountains 
which  had  so  long  refused  their  blessed  relief,  she  looked 
above,  and  in  tones  nearly  as  weak  as  her  boy's,  but  strong 
in  their  fervor,  she  solemnly  invoked  upon  him  the  bless 
ings  of  an  ever- watchful  Heaven. 

And  then  slowly  her  hand  settled  upon  the  roll  that  served 
the  sick  boy  for  a  pillow,  and  her  head  bent  gradually  down, 
the  tears  now  coming  thick  and  fast,  while  the  angelic  com 
pany  above  seemed  departing  with  songs  of  prophetic  joy. 

Yielding  at  length'  to  the  full  sway  of  her  long  pent-up 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARM?.  219 

emotions^  the  now  profoundly  agitated  mother  laid  her  head 
beside  that  of  her  boy,  and  gave  vent  to  an  outburst  of 
weeping. 

Suddenly  Joseph,  whose  hearing  was  at  the  present  time 
preternaturally  acute,  gave  a  quick  start,  and  slightly  rais 
ing  his  head  bent  it  forward  to  listen. 

"  It  inquires  for  us,"  he-  faintly  exclaimed. 

The  mother  looked  up,  and  wiping  the  tears  from  her  eyes, 
gazed  upon  her  son  with  an  expression  of  alarm,  for  she 
thought  he  heard  those  voices  which  presage  death. 

Mary  and  the  little  crippled  Etta,  who,  overcome  with 
cold  and  hunger,  had  been  shivering  and  silent  witnesses  of 
the  foregoing  scene,  also  stared  upon  Joseph  as  he  started 
up  so  suddenly  and  uttered  words  so  wild. 

"  What  do  you  hear,  my  son  ?  "  said  the  mother,  sooth 
ingly. 

"  The  voice.  It  inquires  for  Mrs.  Leering,  and  —  he  is 
coming ! " 

As  Joseph  uttered  these  words  his  hollow  eyes  opened 
wide,  and  were  directed  with  an  intense  gaze  toward  the 
door. 

The  mother  cast  one  quick  glance  to  heaven,  and  then  di 
recting  her  gaze  also  toward  the  door,  she  listened  intently. 

Soon  she  heard  energetic  footsteps  ascending  the  stairs 
below. 

They  reached  the  second  landing,  and  then  stopped.    • 

Then  a  female  voice  cried  out,  — 

"  You  must  go  to  the  top  ! " 

Again  the  steps  were  heard  ascending,  the  frail  stairs 
creaking  as  they  mounted. 

In  another  moment  they  resounded  on  the  floor  outside, 
and  then  the  latch  was  raised,  and  a  man  with  a  kind, 
hearty  face  opened  the  door. 


220  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

He  started  back,  and  his  countenance  assumed  a  look  of 
horror. 

"Great  God!"  he  exclaimed.  "Is  this  a  soldier's 
family?" 


CHAPTEE    XXVII. 

WE  will  pass  to  another  scene.  About  five  o'clock 
on  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  following  the 
visit  of  the  Veteran  to  Boston,  Daniel  Garvin  had  just 
crossed  from  Brooklyn  by  the  Fulton  Ferry,  and  was 
going  up  the  slip,  when  he  felt  himself  plucked  by  the 
sleeve.  He  turned,  and  beheld  the  anxious  features  of 
Baling,  the  cotton  speculator. 

"  A  moment  with  you,  if  you  can  possibly  spare  it,"  he 
said  in  a  low,  hasty  voice. 

Garvin  at  once  led  the  way  to  the  waiting-room. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  inquired  Garvin  in  a  tone  indicating  a 
mind  ill  at  ease,  as  soon  as  they  had  seated  themselves  in 
a  distant  part  of  the  room. 

"  Jaques  &  Co.  have  had  a  visit'or  this  week." 
•    " Jaques  &  Co.?" 

"  Cotton-dealers  in  Boston." 

"  What  of  them  ? "  demanded  Garvin,  in  a  startled  voice 
of  apprehension. 

"  They  bought  Paige's  cotton  of  Peeling  &  Co." 

The  broker's  face  grew  dark. 

"Who  called  on  them?" 

"  Jaques,  who  was  in  my  place  this  morning,  and  who, 
you  are  aware,  knows  nothing  of  this  Paige  affair  —  " 

"  The  man  who  called  is  what'  I  want." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       221 

"I  am  coming  to  it.  Jaques  was  talking  about  business 
affairs  in  Boston,  when  presently  he  commenced  telling  me 
of  this  visitor  — 

"  Who  ?  —  who  was  the  man  ? " 

"  He  described  him  as  a  tall  man,  of  imposing  appear 
ance,  with  a  deep  scar  on  his  face,  introduced  to  him  by 
Waite,  a  brother  dealer,  as  General  Hammond,"  replied 
Baling,  casting  on  Garvin  a  glance  full  of  significance. 

The  broker  audibly  ground  his  teeth. 

"  He  said,"  continued.  Baling,  "  that  this  General  Ham 
mond  was  very  anxious  to  look  at  his  cotton  entries  for  the 
summer  and  fall  of  1864,  and  that  he  was  determined  to 
refuse  at  first ;  but  the  man  had  such  a  commanding  and 
seductive  way  with  him,  besides  having  saved  his  friend 
Waite  from  ruin  in  the  South  during  the  war  —  " 

"  That  he  let  him  look ! "  again  interrupted  Garvin  with 
a  malignant,  yet  apprehensive  sneer. 

"  He  did." 

"  No  more  !  Not  a  moment  is  to  be  lost ! "  And  the 
broker  hastened  from  the  waiting-room,  that  grinding  step 
having  now  mingled  with  it  evidences  of  nervousness  and 
confusion. 

"  May  every  Union  soldier,  sound  or  crippled,  be  cursed, 
if  there  is  a  God  to  curse  them  ! "  muttered  this  inwardly- 
quaking  blasphemer,  as  he  pursued  his  way  up  Fulton 
Street.  "  This  presumptuous  giant  thinks,  then,  to  crush 
me  under  his  clumsy  carcass  !  We  will  see  ! "  Then  rub 
bing  his  forehead  with  a  rapid  and  savage-like  motion  for 
an  instant,  he  said  with  fierce  impatience,  "  His  first  move  ? 
Where  does  he  strike  ? " 

For  a  few  moments  he  seemed  in  perplexed  thought. 
Then  suddenly  increasing  his  already  rapid  step  into  a  long 
stride,  he  exclaimed,  — 


222       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Cringar,  you  grovelling  imbecile  !    if  he  has  put  on 
the  screws  and  you  have  given  in  with  your  idiotic  snivel 
ling,  woe  be  to  you  !    I  '11  soon  put  you  under  inspection  I " 
***** 

It  is  about  an  hour  previous  to  the  foregoing  scene. 
The  reader  is  introduced  into  the  private  office  of  Jonas 
Cringar. 

The  merchant  is  now  given  to  lon^  spells  of  lonely  rumi 
nations,  if  by  such  a  term  can.  be  called  the  silent  bu£ 
terrible  chastisements  of  remorse  that  hold  him  like  one 
petrified  with  horror,  and  presents  to  his  guilty  soul  those 
pictures  which  only  remorse  can  summon  to  the  inward 
eye. 

But  terrible  as  were  these  inflictions  of  a  violated  con 
science,  they  did  not  alone  operate  to  reduce  this  victim 
of  another's  wiles  to  his  present  wretched  and  miserable 
condition.  Over  him  was  continually  held  the  lash  of  fear 
by  the  unrelenting  Garvin. 

In  the  hands  of  the  ever-watchful  broker  was  held  the 
damning  evidence  of  crime,  by  which  his  irretrievable  ruin 
could  be  compassed  at  any  moment.  But  besides  the 
forgery  Garvin  always  carried  in  his  breast-pocket,  to 
which  pocket  we  have  seen  him  direct  the  eyes  of  the 
cowering  merchant  at  certain  stages  of  their  former  inter 
views,  this  master  of  atrocious  schemes  held  another  source 
of  power  by  which  to  govern  his  abject  accomplice. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  among  other  criminal  acts 
committed  by  Jonas  Cringar,  in  that  downward  course  in 
speculation  which  had  been  directed  by  the  treacherous 
broker,  was  the  defalcation  of  forty  thousand  dollars,  as 
treasurer  of  the  Bald.  Eagle  Silver  Mining  Company. 
This  defalcation/the  reader  will  also  remember,  Garvin  was 
to  help  Cringar  provide  against,  in  consideration  of  what, 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       223 

with  a  sort  of  grim  humor,  he  termed  unsuccessful  ven 
tures  with  him  in  Wall  Street,  and  for  the  base  work  he 
was  expected  to  perform  in  the  future. 

As  will  be  readily  seen,  the  broker's  own  interest  de 
manded  that  this  defalcation  be  shielded  from  discovery ; 
for  inasmuch  as  the  merchant,  as  Allen  Paige's  partner,  was 
the  chief  and  most  reliable  instrument  in  his  hands  for  the 
accomplishment  of  his  infamous  purpose,  it  was  necessary 
that  Cringar's  credit,  before  the  world,  should  remain  un 
tarnished.  He  had,  therefore,  purchased  stock  in  the  Bald 
Eagle  Company,  and,  through  his  powerful  influence,  first 
been  made  a  Director,  and  then  by  those  means  which  all 
who  have  been  intimately  connected  with  joint-stock  com 
panies  will  readily  comprehend,  the  payment  of  dividends 
was  postponed,  and  time  secured  for  such  manipulations  as 
were  necessary  to  accomplish  his  object. 

But  this  arch  schemer  was  not  so  simple  as  to  keep  his 
promise  made  to  the  ruined  merchant,,  that  he  would,  by 
giving  him  credit  for  margins,  put  him  on  the  up  grade  of 
speculative  profits,  and  thus  enable  him  to  relieve'  himself 
of  his  terrible  financial  embarrassment.  On  the  other  hand, 
he  continued  to  hold  him  over  the  s&me  gulf  above  which 
he  dangled  in  the  opening  of  our  story,  while  he  compelled 
his  tongue  and  hands  to  move  like  some  wretched  autom 
aton,  at  the  bidding  of  his  own  will. 

As  the  reader  is  now  ushered  into  his  presence,  Jonas 
Cringar  sits  lost  to  the  existence  of  the  outer  world,  and 
looks  more  than  usually  haggard  and  abstracted. 

His  mind  has  been  more  frequently  buried  than  ever  in 
the  deep  gloom  of  criminal  darkness  and  remorse,  since  the 
fearful  interview  with  Daniel  Garvin,  at  the  latter 's  office, 
which  we  last  recorded. 

In  the  midst  of  the  appalling  blasphemy  of  the  broker, 


224       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

combined  as  it  was  with  expressions,  threats,  and  an  appear 
ance,  calculated  to  drive  almost  to  frenzy  his  already  shat 
tered  mind,  the  merchant  now  ever  in  his  tormenting  im 
agination  heard  the  laughter  peal,  and  saw  the  impish  face 
of  simple  Sal,  as  it  was  horribly  presented  to  his  startled 
gaze,  pressed  against  the  window-pane  ;  while  from  the 
mouth  issued  that  song  of  idiotic  gibberish,  which  to  his 
guilty  spirit  seemed  fraught  with  the  prophecy  of  doom. 

As  he  now  sits  before  us,  his  torturing  fancies  revert 
again  and  again  to  this  scene.  The  laughter,  the  face,  the 
song  are'  incessantly  in  his  ears  and  before  his  eyes ;  and 
ever  and  anon  he  repeats  those  words,  which,  sung  by  a. 
mischievous  idiot,  have  power  to  haunt  his  guilty  soul  as  if 
uttered  by  unearthly  voices, — 

" My  gentle  sirs,  be  very  kind/ 
Your  candle  's  out, 
My  gentle  sirs  ! 
YOTJ  'LL  BE  FOUND  our, 

MY  GENTLE  SIRS  ! 

But  gentle,  me  you  cannot  find  I " 

While  an  outraged  conscience  was  thus  lashing  this  un 
happy  merchant's  soul,  a  visitor  entered  the  outer  counting- 
room  who  seemed  to  have  come  at  this  particular  hour  by 
command  of  the  dread  Nemesis. 

.  It  was  the  Veteran. 

Billings,  the  book-keeper,  was  at  that  moment  the  only 
person  in  the  counting-room. 

He  stepped  forward,  took  the  Veteran's  hand,  and  in  a 
low  voice  said,  — 

"  He  is  within,  and  has  given  orders,  as  usual,  not  to  be 
interrupted.  He's  growing  worse  every  day.  I  really 
think  we  have  reason  to  pity  him." 

"  Sinful  as  he  has  been,  he  has  evidently  been  sinned 


THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        225 

against/'  returned  the  Veteran,  gravely.  "  I  would  see  him 
at  once." 

"  That  you  shall,  orders  or  no  orders.  He  has  been  par 
ticularly  blue  to-day,  and  I  'm  inclined  to  think  he  's  in  a 
good  condition  to  come  under  your  hands." 

With  this  the  book-keeper  opened  the  door  of  the  private 
office. 

Cringar,  who  was  at  the  instant  repeating  the  idiot's 
prophecy  for  the  fiftieth  time,  heard  the  turning  of  the 
door-knob,  and  gazed  up  with  a  startled  frown.  But 
instantly  he  beheld  the  grand  and  severe  countenance  of 
the  Veteran  he  sank  back  in  his  chair,  while  an  expression 
of  abject  terror  displayed  itself  on  his  cadaverous  visage. 

A  description  of  this  stern,  battle-scarred  stranger  had 
been  given  the  now  trembling. merchant  by  Daniel  Garvin, 
who,  from  the  hour  he  was  confronted  by  him  in  the  house 
which  he  had  robbed  from  the  family  of  his  half-brother, 
could  not  shake  from  his  mind  the  profound  conviction 
that  in  that  visitor,  whose  glance  had  for  the  second  time 
caused  him  to  quail,  he  had  found  a  dangerous  and  untiring 
foe,  against  whom  it  was  necessary  for  his  victimized  and 
unskilled  accomplice  to  be  warned. 

The  Veteran  closed  the  door,  and  stood  contemplating 
the  terrified  wretch  in  silence. 

The  merchant  could  not  remove  his  gaze  from  the  deep, 
searching  eye  that  was  upon  him,  which  he  felt  to  be  read 
ing  his  guilty  soul  to  its  innermost  depths  ;  and  as  his  vis 
itor  sustained  his  own  gaze,  his  eye  seeming  each  moment 
to  increase  in  its  penetrating  power,  this  miserable  man 
began  to  feel  as  if  oppressed  by  some  frightful  nightmare, 
and  his  whole  being  seemed  ready  to  give  vent  to  one  pro 
longed  cry. 

At  length  the  Veteran  seated  himself,  and  still  sternly 
10*  •  o 


226       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

contemplating  the  terror-stricken  merchant,  he  said  in  a 
low  deep  voice,  which  to  his  auditor's  ears  sounded  like  the 
voice  of  his  inexorable  judge,  — 

"  Is  this  Jonas  Cringar,  executor  of  the  estate  of  Allen 
Paige  ? " 

The  merchant  appeared  incapable  of  speaking,  for  his 
voice  seemed  lost  in  the  gaze,  which  still  remained  rivet 
ed,  as  if  frozen  with  nightmare,  on  his  visitor's  judge-like 
visage. 

The  Veteran  repeated  his  inquiry,  — 

"  Is  this  Jonas  Cringar,  executor  of  the  estate  of  Allen 
Paige  ? " 

On  the  repetition  of  this  question  Jonas  Cringar  aroused 
himself,  and  in  a  subdued,  broken  voice  answered,  — 

"  That  is  my  name." 

"You  have  associated  with  you  one  Daniel  Garvin, 
broker?" 

Instantly  the  sound  of  Daniel  Garvin's  name  fell  on  his 
ears  the  merchant  experienced,  in  an  extraordinary  manner, 
the  effect  of  another  power  in  opposition  to  that  now  ex 
erted  by  his  questioner.  It  was  the  power  of  him  whose 
name  had  been  pronounced. 

It  at  once  served  to  bring  fear  into  opposition  with  fright. 
On  the  utterance  of  the  name,  Cringar  instinctively  withdrew 
his  eye  from  the  Veteran's,  and  cast  a  hasty,  startled  glance 
at  the  window.  Then  rising  he  went  to  this  window  and 
gave  the  curtain  a  twitch,  though  it  was  already  drawn, 
and  then  with  a  sweeping  stare  around  the  room  he  resumed 
his  seat,  while  the  perspiration  began  to  appear  from  the 
internal  commotion  into  which  the  presence  of  the  Veteran 
and  the  utterance  of  the  broker's  name  had  precipitated 
him. 

The  Veteran  did  not  fail  to  observe  closely  this  sudden 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        227 

display  of  a  conflicting  fear ;  he  surmised  the  cause  of  it, 
and  immediately  made  up  his  mind  how  he  should  act. 

"  Mr.  Cringar/'  he  said,  in  a  modulated  and  yet  dignified 
tone,  "  am  I  not  justly  informed  that  yourself  and  Daniel 
Garvin  are  executors  of  the  late  Allen  Paige's  estate  ? " 

"  I  must  refer  you,  sir,"  answered  Cringar,  with  a  sort 
of  desperate  firmness,  "  to  Mr.  Garvin,  if  you  wish  informa 
tion  on  this  business." 

"  Indeed,  Mr.  Cringar,  I  had  supposed,  you  having  been 
Mr.  Paige's  partner,  and  I  also  having  been  given  to  under 
stand  that  your  relations  with  him  were  very  intimate,  that 
I  could  obtain  certain  information  from  you  of  all.  others." 

As  the  Veteran  uttered  this  speech,  he  had  allowed  his 
voice  and  manner  to  approach  gradually  that  degree  of  depth 
and  severity  which  he  had  momentarily  relinquished. 

The  merchant  felt  this  change,  but  the  stormy  visage  of 
Daniel  Garvin,  together  with  that  repulsive  hand  directed 
to  the  side-pocket  in  which  he  carried  his  large  wallet,  came 
up  before  him,  "and  casting  another  glance  toward  the  cur 
tained  window,  he  said  with  peevish  impatience,  — 

"  When  Mr.  Paige  was  living  I  knew  more  than  any  one 
else  about  his  business ;  but  now  he  is  dead,  you  must  go 
to  another  man." 

"  Jonas  Cringar ! "  exclaimed  the  Veteran  in  a  voice  of  vast 
but  subdued  power,  "  does  not  the  dead  Allen  Paige  some 
times  engage  your  guilty  thoughts  ? "  And  leaning  his 
massive  form  slightly  forward,  his  face  assumed  that  ap 
pearance  of  overwhelming  power  we  have  formerly  wit 
nessed,  while  his  stern  gray  eye  was  bent  on  the  merchant 
with  a  look  before  which  this  gasping  wretch  shrank  as 
from  the  eye  of  Heaven. 

Blanching  to  a  deadly  'pallidness,  Jonas  Cringar  stared 
upon  the  Veteran  with  open  mouth,  his  haggard  features 


228       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

drawn,  and  slightly  quivering.  The  avenging  spirit  of  his 
former  partner  seemed  to  his  frenzied  imagination  to  be 
lending  his  supernatural  aid  to  the  power  of  that  annihi 
lating  gaze.  Mechanically  reaching  for  the  arms  of  the 
large  chair  in  which  he  sat,  he  grasped  them  in  his  long 
bony  fingers,  which  trembled  as  if  stricken  with  palsy. 

"Allen  Paige  !"  he  gasped,  —  "what  do  you  know  of  the 
dead  Allen  Paige  ? " 

The  Veteran  did  not  answer,  but  continued  that  terrible 
gaze,  which  seemed  scorching  the  merchant's  soul,  and  roll 
ing  it  up  like  a  heated  parchment. 

For  an  instant  Jonas  Cringar,  by  a  sort  of  preternatural 
fascination,  lost  sight  of  the  definite  form  and  features  of 
his  terrible  visitor;  and  in  their  place  there  appeared  to 
his  guilt-distorted  fancy  the  image  of  Allen  Paige,  casting 
upon  him  'that  last  expiring  look,  that  mute  appeal,  which 
had  haunted  him  by  day  and  by  night,  until  he  were  ready 
to  cry  from  depths,  compared  to  which  the  effort  of  the 
actor  on  the  stage  is  but  simple  mouthing,  — 

"  STILL  IT  CRIED,  SLEEP  NO  MORE  ! " 

At  length  his  gaping  mouth  spasmodically  closed 
itself,  and  then  in  a  suppressed,  but  agonized  voice,  he 
shrieked,  — 

"Allen  !  before  God,  my  heart  was  not  guilty  ! " 

This  seemed  to  break  the  spell.  Immediately  those 
haunting,  ghostly  features  vanished,  and  in  their  place  still 
remained,  confronting  him,  the  silent,  immovable,  and 
sombre  visage  of  his  visitor. 

His  hands  relaxed  their  hold  of  the  arms  of  his  chair, 
and  then  with  a  profound  sigh,  in  which  was  mingled  the 
ejaculation,  "  0  my  God  !  "  "he  carried  them  to  his  face. 

The  Veteran  still  remained  silent. 

Suddenly  the  merchant  sprang  to  his  feet,  and  with  an- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       229 

other  of  those  frightened  glances  at  the  window,  he  broke 
into  a  storm  of  invective,  pouring  out  upon  the  Veteran  a 
torrent  of  insane  fury. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

THE  Veteran  sat  beneath  Jonas  Cringar's  sudden  and 
unexpected  attack  with  the  same  calmness  with 
which  he  had,  day  after  day,  sat  in  his  saddle  in  the  midst 
of  Eebel  shot  and  shell.  He  was  a  profound  student  of 
the  human  soul,  and  accordingly  did  not  fail  to  understand 
the  symptoms  of  the  merchant's  insane  fury ;  and  we  can 
not  better  liken  this  remarkable  scene  than  to  the  mad 
dened  waves  dashing  in  foam  and  spray  against  some  lofty 
rock-ribbed  cliff. 

Finally  Cringar  was  on  the  verge  of  being  overcome  by 
his  own  foaming  rage,  which  was  lashed  on  by  pictures  of 
the  impending  vengeance  of  Daniel  Garvin.  He  evidently 
realized  this,  and  with  one  last  effort  he  advanced  upon  his 
silent  visitor  with  clenched  fist,  and  in  a  voice  to  be  com 
pared  only  to  the  frenzied  utterance  of  men,  .who,  overcome 
in  battle  by  rage  and  fright,  will  rush  with  gaping  mouth 
and  wide-stretched  eyes  upon  the  bayonet  or  sabre-point, 
he  cried,  — 

"  Liar !  spy  !  insulter  of  a  weak  and  broken  man  !  be 
gone  !  —  begone  I  say  I  or  I  '11  give  you  into  the  hands  of 
the  police ! " 

"Hush!"  commanded  the  object  of  this  outburst  in  a 
calm,  admonitory  voice,  at  the  same  time  waving  his  hand 
toward  the  door,  —  "  hush  !  or  you  will  be  heard  ! " 


230        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  I  care  not !  Your  black-mail  game  has  failed  here  j  so 
be  gone  !  Be  off,  I  say  ! " 

The  door  at  this  moment  was  slightly  opened,  and  Bil 
lings,  the  book-keeper,  looked  in. 

The  Veteran  now  rose,  and  drawing  a  paper  from  his 
pocket,  he  put  his  mouth  to  Cringar's  ear  and  exclaimed  in 
a  voice  of  muttering  thunder,  — 

"  Shall  I  proclaim  your  .guilt  in  the  open  ears  of  the 
entire  city  ! "  Then  presenting  the  paper  to  his  astounded 
gaze  he  said,  "  This  is  my  evidence ! " 

The  merchant  dropped  into  his  chair  as  from  a  stroke  of 
electricity,  and  the  book-keeper  softly  closed  the  door. 

It  seemed  the  fate  of  this  miserable  man  to  have  some 
damning  written  evidence  of  his  crimes  thrust  before  his 
eyes,  at  the  moment*  of  arousing  himself  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  what,  to  his  frenzied  mind,  might  perchance  have 
appeared  annihilating  fury.  The  reader  will  recollect  that 
the  destroying  evidence  in  the  hands  of  Daniel  Garvin  over 
whelmed  him  under  somewhat  similar  circumstances. 

This  was  the  paper  which  we  have  just  seen  produce  so 
remarkable  an  effect  on  the  astounded  merchant:  — 

"  One  hundred  eleven  (111)  Bales  of  Cotton,  bought  ly 
F.  Jaques  &  Co.,  Boston,  of  A.  M.  Peerling  &  Co.,  Brokers, 
New  York,  August  23d,  1864. 

"MARKS,  A.N.Z." 

The  Veteran  proceeded  quietly  to  open  another  paper, 
and  holding  it  before  Cringar  said  in  a  calm  voice,  — 

"  Here  is  a  list  of  quotations,  dating  from  August  1st  to 
October  1st." 

The  merchant  looked  at  this  list  mechanically  for  a  mo- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       231 

ment,  and  then  falling  back  in  a  sort  of  stupor,  scalding 
tears  began  to  trickle  down  his  haggard  cheeks,  and  in  a 
voice  of  unutterable  despair  he  exclaimed, — 

"  My  God  !  the  idiot's  song  !     Who  can  save  me  now  ! " 

"  Confide  in  me,  and  I  will  do  my  utmost  for  you,"  said 
the  Veteran.  i 

Cringar  did  not  seem  to  hear  at  first ;  but  continued  in  a 
half-conscious  state,  while  the  tears  slowly  forced  them 
selves  from  his  weary,  bloodshot  eyes. 

The  Veteran  contemplated  this  human  wreck  with  sen 
timents  of  sincere  commiseration. 

At  length  the  merchant  looked  up  in  the  midst  of  his 
tears,  and,  as  if  he  had  but  just  heard  the  assurance  ad 
dressed  to  him,  said,  — 

"  You  will  help  me,  do  you  say  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  pledge  you  my  word  that  if  you  will  but  con 
fide  in  me,  and  reveal  all  you  know  of  this  business,  I  will 
spare  no  effort  to  shield  you  from  such  harm  as  it  is  in  the 
power  of  man  to  prevent." 

"  Your  name  ?  " 

This  brief  question  was  uttered  in  an  indescribable 
voice. 

"  Julius  Hammond." 

"Julius  Hammond?"  repeated  the  merchant,  who  be 
gan  to '  show  signs  of  returning  life.  "  General  of  Union 
cavalry  ? " 

"  The  same." 

"  I  have  heard  of  you.  Your  honor^and  humanity  I  can 
not  doubt." 

As  Jonas  Cringar  uttered  these  words  he  dropped  his 
head,  closed  his  eyes,  and  drawing  a  long  heavy  sigh, 
seemed  lost,  for  the  time  being,  to  all  that  surrounded  him. 

The  Veteran  had  not  miscalculated. 


232       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  striking  appearance  of  his  physiognomy,  as  observed 
by  Jaques  and  Waite  while  he  was  copying  the  entry  from 
the  former's  book,  will  be  remembered  by  the  reader.  It 
presaged  danger  to  those  he  was  arrayed  against.  From  that 
entry  he  bore  away  with  him  a  weapon  which  in  his  hands 
was  destined,  as  we  have  seen,  to  be  formidable.  Having, 
from  the  descriptions  given  him,  formed  a  clear  conception 
of  the  character  and  present  moral  and  mental  condition  of 
Jonas  Cringar,  he  did  not  deem  it  necessary  to  further  risk 
exposing  his  plans  to  the  enemy  by  an  attempt  to  gain  add 
ed  information  of  Peeling  &  Co.,  whom  he  perceived  by  the 
entry  to  have  been  the  New  York  brokers  that  sold  to 
Jaques  &  Co.,  but  determined  to  move  at  once  upon  the 
shattered  merchant,  calculating  with  a  judgment  that  had 
often  confounded  the  Eebels  at  the  moment  they  saw  vic 
tory  perching  on  their  banners,  that  he  could  by  an  opening 
charge  so  demoralize  the  object  of  his  attack,  as,  at  the 
right  moment,  to  overwhelm  him  with  the  evidence  he  now 
possessed.  We  have  witnessed  the  result. 

The  potent  mental  force  which  he  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  weakened  and  distracted  mind  of  Jonas  Cringar  was 
aided  in  a  remarkable  degree  by  the  superstitious  and 
guilty  terror  with  which,  as  we  have  seen,  his  thoughts 
had  almost  incessantly  reverted  to  the  song  of  Simple  Sal, 
and  pictured  it  as  the  prophecy  of  an  impending  dtfom ;  so 
that  when,  at  the  height  of  his  crazy  reaction,  his  accuser 
with  crushing  power  suddenly  confronted  him  with  the 
paper,  whose  contends  we  have  transcribed,  his  diseased 
fancy  instantaneously  conjured  up  the  hideous  face  of  the 
singing  idiot  grinning  from  the  midst  of  the  writing  "Before 
him,  while  into  his  soul  seemed  to  thunder  the  judgment 
he  had  dreaded  with  such  awful  premonition.  This  state 
of  frenzied  commotion  did  not  at  first  permit  him  to  ques- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  233 

tion  whether  his  visitor  could  compass  his  and  Garyin's 
downfall  by  means  of  this  evidence  ;  the  picture  of  certain 
retribution  and  final  ruin,  as  held  in  the  hands  of  this 
strange  man,  was  the  only  object  presented  to  his  mental 
vision. 

But  as  he  now  sat  with  head  dropped  and  eyes  closed, 
he  realized  that  this  man  pitied  him,  and  his  mind  began 
confusedly  to  revolve  the  situation  into  which  he  found 
himself  so  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  thrown. 

At  length  the  Veteran  broke  the  silence. 

"  Mr.  Cringar,"  he  said,  in  a  low,  soothing  voice,  with  a 
tenderness  singularly  characteristic  of  men  of  his  physical 
and  mental  power,  "  the  evidence  I  hold  in  my  possession 
is  for  the  purpose  of  saving  a  wronged  family  from  the  fate 
to  which  a  heartless  and  unprincipled  man  would  consign 
them.  This  man  I  propose  to  punish,  but  not  you.  You 
have  done  great  wrong  to  this  family,  but  you  can  atone 
for  it." 

These  words  penetrated  to  the  depths  of  the  merchant's 
heart.  He  was  moved  by  an  almost  overpowering  impulse 
to  throw  himself  before  the  Veteran  like  a  child,  and  utter 
aloud  all  that  was  passing  within  him. 

But  a  remarkable  revulsion  took  place. 

Suddenly  opening  his  eyes  he  rose  to  his  feet,  and  with 
one  more  of  those  fearful  glances  at  the  curtained  window, 
he  exclaimed  in  a  frenzied  voice,  at  the  same  time  smiting 
his  breast,  — 

"  0  God  !  how  that  reckless  act  has  bound  me  here  ! " 

The  Veteran  gazed  upon  him  in  astonishment. 

Cringar  instantly  reseated  himself  and  sat  for  a  while  in 
silence,  startled  by  his  own  outburst.  Then  after  another 
internal  struggle  he  addressed  the  Veteran. 

"  General  Hammond,"  he  said,  "  I  am  in  the  power  of  a 


234       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

man  who,  so  long  as  he  holds  that  power,  can  and  will  de 
stroy  me  the  instant  it  is  for  his  interest  to  do  so.  I  pray 
you  believe  me,  sir,  when  I  say  that  I  am  ready  to  do 
everything  I  possibly  can,  even  to  the  giving  of  my  life  if 
necessary  —  and  God  knows  it  would  not  be  giving  much 
now  !  —  to  atone  for  the  part  I  have  taken  in  wronging  the 
family  of  my  former  partner,  whom,  sir,  I  esteemed  and 
loved."  His  voice  was  here  choked ;  controlling  his  emo 
tions,  he  went  on:  "But,  sir,  this  man,  Daniel  Garvin, 
of  whom  you  have  just  spoken,  carries  constantly  about  him 
a  paper  by  which  he  can  crush  me  at  any  moment,  and 
render  useless  any  attempt  you  'may  make  through  me  to 
restore  to  their  rights  those  whom  he,  with  my  constrained 
assistance,  has  so  wickedly  defrauded." 

"  What  is  the  nature  of  this  paper  ? " 

"A  note." 

"Only  a  note?" 

"  An  indorsement." 

"  Simply  an  indorsement  ?  " 

"  To  you  alone  I  tell  it :  an  indorsement  forged  by  my 
hand." 

3-he  Veteran  did  not  speak. 

"  A  reckless  act ;  done,  sir,  in  a  moment  of  desperation, 
when  threatened  with  ruin  by  speculation,  as  many  another 
criminal  act  has  been  done  by  many  another  man  in  this 
city  within  these  past  few  years.  I  realized  not  what  I 
was  doing,  General  Hammond,  until  it  wras  done." 

The  merchant  then  confessed  to  the  Veteran  the  manner 
in  which  he  had  been  led  on  to  his  ruin,  through  the 
agency  of  speculation,  by  Daniel  Garvin,  and  was  then 
made  use  of  to  carry  out  the  broker's  long-contemplated 
plot  against  the  name  and  family  of  Allen  Paige. 

In  the  course  of  this  confession  Cringar  conveyed  to  his 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       235 

listener  a  full  idea  of  the  position  which  Garvin  then 
occupied,  the  power  he  wielded,  the  manner  in  which  he 
held  the  Paige  estate,  and  the  instrumentalities  he  had  at 
command  in  connection  with  it. 

The  Veteran,  as  will  be  readily  imagined,  lent  to  this 
recital  an  earnest  attention.  His  comprehensive  mind 
grasped  the  whole  situation  as  Cringar  unfolded  the  details 
that  composed  it.  He  perceived  that,  whatever  might  be 
the  ultimate  result  of  his  other  criminal  acts,  in  the  unfor 
tunate  forgery,  of  which  Cringar  had  been  so  recklessly 
guilty,  lay  an  insuperable  barrier  to  his  progress,  so  long 
as  it  remained  in  the  hands  of  Daniel  Garvin.  He  saw  at 
a  glance,  that  the  subtle  broker  had  so  marshalled  his  other 
forces,  that  if  Cringar,  whom  he  evidently  had  never  trusted, 
should  finally  threaten  to  be  dangerous,  he  could  instantly 
destroy  him  by  means  of  the  damning  evidence  of  crime 
he  possessed,  and  then  hold  his  position  against  all  "  bab 
bling  "  he  might  indulge  in.  This  leader  of  cavalry  had 
not  been  unobservant  of  the  labyrinthian  courses  of  the  law. 
That  possession  was  "  nine  points  "  of  it  he  was  very  thor 
oughly  convinced,  especially  when  this  possession  was 
backed  up  by  moneyed  power  and  influence  in  New  York 
City.  He  saw  that  if  he  were  to  undertake  to  use  Cringar 
as  evidence,  and  move  directly  against  the  broker  with  that 
forgery  in  his  possession,  he  not  only  would  himself  give 
the  signal  for  Cringar's  immediate  destruction,  but  would 
plunge  the  whole  business  into  a  contest  where  money  in 
unlimited  amounts  must  be  supplied,  or  defeat  inevitably 
result. 

Strategy,  not  money,  must  do  the  work  for  him.  Mind 
he  could  depend  upon ;  money  he  had  not  for  such  a  con 
test. 

As  he  now  sat  in  that  office,  while  Cringar  watched  him 


236       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

with  intense  anxiety,  these  things  passed  in  swift  review 
before  his  mind.  He  had  accomplished  much  up  to  this 
moment,  but  he  realized  that  work  was  before  him,  and  a 
false  step  would  ruin  all. 

His  decision  was  taken;  and  Cringar  experienced  an 
indefinable  hope  as  he  witnessed  the  expression  of  that 
decision  on  those  grand  features,  which,  but  a  short  time 
before,  had  so  terrified  him. 

The  Veteran  rose  to  depart. 

"  Mr.  Cringar,"  he  said,  "  I  must  enjoin  upon  you,  in  this 
matter,  absolute  secrecy  and  silence." 

The  merchant  bowed  his  head. 

A  pause  ensued ;  and  then  Cringar,  in  a  broken  voice, 
said,  — 

"  The  boy,  Albert,  —  I  heard  he  was  very  ill."  And  with 
a  smile  of  imspeakable  sadness  he  added,  "  Mr.  Cringar  was 
a  great  favorite  of  his." 

"  The  boy,"  answered  the  Veteran,  feelingly,  "  is  out  of 
danger,  and  is  doing  well." 

He  moved  toward  the  door  as  he  spoke,  while  the  mer 
chant,  having  fallen  back  in  his  chair  apparently  exhausted 
by  this  interview,  sat  with  his  eyes  cast  to  the  floor,  a  prey 
to  melancholy  thoughts.  The  departing  viaitor  had  scarcely 
opened  the  door  when  a  well-known  voice  was  heard  out 
side. 

The  instant  this  voice  struck  the  ears  of  the  exhausted 
and  abstracted  Cringar,  he  seemed  to  forget  all  else,  and 
the  old  look  of  terror  took  possession  of  his  countenance. 
His  whole  body  trembled  violently,  and  the  cold  sweat 
started  out  anew  upon  his  forehead. 

"  Fear  not,"  said  the  Veteran  in  a  firm  but  soothing  tone, 
as  he  turned  and  beheld  the  effect  this  voice  had  produced 
on  the  merchant.  "  It  is  not  his  interest  at  present  to 
destroy  your  reputation." 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GEAND  ARMY.  237 

He  then  passed  out,  closing  the  door  behind  him. 

He  was  met  by  Daniel  Garvin,  who,  having  stopped  to 
question  the  book-keeper,  was  now  advancing  toward  the 
private  office. 

The  broker's  malevolent  eye  shot  forth  a  gleam  of  defiant 
and  revengeful  rage,  which  the  Veteran  met  with  a  glance 
fraught  with  what  the  book-keeper  afterwards  described  as 
that  deadly  calmness  which,  in  a  voyage  to  the  tropics, 
made  a  few  years  previous,  he  had  observed  to  be  ominous 
of  an  approaching  tempest. 


CHAPTEE    XXIX. 

THE  scene  we  have  depicted  occurred  on  Thursday. 
Friday  the  Veteran  sat  in  his  room,  deeply  engaged  in 
revolving  plans  for  the  intricate  work  that  was  before  him, 
when  Prescott  Marland  was  ushered  in. 

"  General ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  just  seen  two  as  pre 
cious  scoundrels  as  walk  the  streets  of  New  York ! " 

"  Indeed  !  and  who  are  they,  pray  ?  " 

"  Slayeut  and  fororblude  !  " 

"  Slayeut  and  Drorblude  !  "  repeated  the  Veteran. 

"  The  same  ! "  cried  Prescott,  snapping  his  fingers.  "  And 
if  I  don't  draw  blood  out  of  both  of  'em,  then  I  'm  no  friend 
of  the  Paige  family,  that 's  all ! " 

The  Veteran  smiled.  There  was  an  irresistible  tendency 
on  the  part  of  Prescott  to  make  this  grave  man  smile,  no 
matter  under  what  circumstances.  If  the  latter  had,  like 
an  old  Roman  consul,  been  in  position  where  he  must  con 
demn  this  young  friend  to  death,  it  were  a  question  whether 
the  condemned  would  not  have  compelled  a  significant 


238       THE  VETERAN  OF  TpE  GRAND  ARMY. 

relaxation  of  his  judge's  features,  before  lie  had  done  with 
him. 

"  I  will  tell  you  how  it  was,"  continued  Marland.  "  You 
see  I  happened  to  be  in  Cringar's  place  to  speak  with  Bil 
lings,  when  I  heard  the  sound  of  voices  in  the  private  office. 
I  recognized  Garvin's  and  Cringar's ;  but  I  was  more  par 
ticularly  struck  with  the  others.  There  was  something 
about  them  that  sounded  familiar,  and  I  asked  Billings 
who  was  in  there. 

" '  Slaycut  and  Drorblude  talking  with  Garvin  and  Grin- 
gar/  said  he. 

" '  What,  the  men  who  'held  Allen  Paige's  notes  for  min 
ing  stock  ? '  cried  I,  all  of  a  sudden  smelling  a  mighty  big 
rat. 

"'Hush!'  whispered  Billings.  'Not  so  loud!  They 
are  the  gentlemen  named  in  the  inventory  put  in  by  Grin- 
gar  and  Garvin,  and  mighty  attractive-looking  men  they 
are  too.' 

"  Just  then  the  door  opened,  and,  by  Jove !  if  there  were 
n't  two  of  the  biggest  rascals  that  ever  cursed  Montana, 
grinning  and  nodding  like  circus  clowns.  The  moment 
their  eyes  fell  on  me,  back  they  started,  one  of  their  boots 
coming  down  on  Garvin's  corns,  I  should  judge  by  the 
growl,  and  there  they  stood  staring  at  me.  'T  was  a  rich 
sight !  "  exclaimed  Prescott,  laughing.  "  I  did  n't  move  a 
peg ;  but  remained  calm  and  majestic,  like  the  ghost  of 
Hamlet's  father,  and  fancied  I  heard  them  mutter  between 
their  teeth, — 

'  Be  thou  a  spirit  of  health  or  goblin  damned, 
Bring  with  thee  airs  from  heaven  or  blasts  from  hell, 
Be  thy  intents  wicked  or  charitable, 
Thou  com'st  in  such  a  questionable  shape, 
That  I  will  speak  to  thee.' 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       239 

"  But  if  that  was  their  intention,  that  precious  pirate  of  a 
Garvin  did  n't  give  'em  time  to  carry  it  out ;  for,  drawing 
them  back  with  that  ugly  hand  of  his,  he  slammed  the 
door  to,  first  sending  a  look  at  me  that  had  more  of  the 
cut-throat  in  it  than  anything  of  the  kind  I  've  seen  for  a 
good  while." 

"  Well,  you  Ve  got  them  shut  up  with  Garvin  for  the 
purpose  of  telling  him  who  you  are ;  now  please  tell  me 
who  they  are,"  said  the  Veteran  with  interest. 

"  In  about  three  words :  they  are  by  name,  as  I  knew 
them  West,  Jim  Fitch  and  Sam  Eatter,  two  blacklegs  and 
cut-throats  who  got  jugged  one  day,  —  and  the  same  night 
the  miners  went  up  to  lynch  'em  and  found  them  gone. 
That 's  the  last  I  ever  saw  or  heard  of  them  till  they  burst 
upon  me  in  the  glory  of  Garvin's  presence." 

"  So  they  never  pre-empted  out  there  ? " 

"  Well,  as  to  that  I  can't  say.  But  if  they  did,  it  was  to 
swindle  the  green  ones  with." 

"  A  good  many  intelligent  men  have  been  swindled  by 
those  kind  of  fellows,  here  in  New  York,"  said  the  Veteran, 
seriously. 

"  Very  true,"  returned  Prescott,  sobered  by  the  Veteran's 
manner. 

" '  Even  a  scoundrel  may  pre-empt,  and  on  the  basis  of  real 
property  get  up  a  swindle  here  that  it  would  be  difficult  to 
get  behind,  if  there  were  plenty  of  money  to  stop  one's 
progress." 

"  It  is  indeed  so,"  said  Prescott,  in  a  meditative  voice. 
"  That  Garvin  seems  to  have  things  knotted  up  badly." 

"  As  I  will  show  you,"  responded  the  Veteran ;  and 
thereupon  he  proceeded  to  give  Prescott  a  succinct  account 
of  his  interview  with  Cringar  on  the  previous  day,  and  its 
results.  "  This  discovery  of  yours,"  he  said  in  conclusion, 


240       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  is  of  the  utmost  importance  in  the  future  working  of  my 
plans,  though  it  may  not  produce  results  so  immediate  as 
you  had  hoped." 

"Yes,"  replied  Prescott,  "I  see  how  it  is.  Law  chas 
tises  scoundrels,  and  protects  them  too.  That  is  to  say, 
a  rogue  may  swindle  a  victim,  and  then  hop  behind  the 
technical  meshes  of  the  law  for  safety.  And  if  he 's  got 
money  enough,  Heaven  only  knows  how  long  he  will  stay 
there!  General,  I  think  lynch-law  is  a  capital  thing 
sometimes." 

"  A  desperate  remedy,  but  effective  in  desperate  cases." 

They  now  parted. 

On  the  evening  immediately  after  the  foregoing  conver 
sation  between  the  Veteran  and  Prescott  Marland,  Daniel 
Garvin  might  have  been  seen,  hat  in  hand,  about  taking 
his  departure  from  the  house  of  Dr.  Pennell,  who  at  that 
time  had  charge  of  a  private  madhouse  in  the  upper  part 
of  the  city. 

"  You  understand  everything  clearly,  Doctor  ? "  said  the 
broker,  as  he  proceeded  first  to  smooth  his  hat  with  his 
hand,  and  then  to  draw  his  handkerchief  slowly  around  it, 
as  if  he  would  leave  no  stubborn  ruffle  unsubdued.  "  You 
will  not  forget  that  a  nephew  of  such  promise  must  receive 
from  you  a  very  special  care." 

The  doctor,  whose  form  was  not  unlike  Garvin's,  but 
whose  visage,  though  partaking  somewhat  of  the  bony  struc 
ture  of  his  visitor's,  was  of  a  complexion  light,  sandy,  and 
freckled,  —  this  doctor  gave  vent  to  a  subdued  but  sinister 
laugh,  and  said,  — 

"  Do  not  fear,  Mr.  Garvin.  If  this  nephew  is  the  un 
fortunate  victim  of  the  hallucinatidn  you  have  described, 
he  must  necessarily  receive  from  us  more  than  usual  care. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       241 

I  know  of  no  cases  so  dangerous  as  these  patients  whose 
mania  consists  in  the  fancy  that  all  about  them  are  thieves 
and  assassins." 

"  You  will  have  the  carriage  there  at  the  hour  ? " 

"Without  fail." 

*  #  #  #  # 

A  day  passes  by,  when  Prescott  Marland  on  entering  his 
boarding-house  in  the  evening  receives  the  following  note, 
written  in  pencil : — 

MR.  MARLAND. 

I  have  called  to  see  you,  but  do  not  find  you  in.  I  have 
just  discovered  a  little  girl,  dying  from  starvation,  whom  I 
have  ascertained  to  be  the  unfortunate  child  of  a  soldier,  named 
Joseph  Deering,  who  was  killed  in  the  war  of  the  Rebellion.  I 
have  sent  temporary  relief ;  but  I  am  unexpectedly  compelled 
to  leave  the  city  by  the  afternoon  train,  and  therefore  am  pre 
vented  from  doing  all  my  heart  dictates.  I  have  been  directed 
to  you  as  one  who  belongs  to  an  association  that  helps  the 
suffering  families  of  the  fallen  brave.  In  God's  name,  then, 
delay  not  in  this  case  !  To  provide  against  all  accidents  I  have 
ordered  the  same  hackman  that  drove  me  to  the  place  where 
this  wretched  little  girl  is  now  lying  a  skeleton  to  call  for  you 
at  eight  o'clock.  Heaven  pity  the  unfortunate  ! 
Sincerely  yours,  . 

EDWARD  SMALL, 

A  Friend  of  the  Soldier. 

Prescott  called  the  landlady. 

"  How  long  ago  was  this  left  here  ? "  he  asked. 

"About  two  hours  ago,"  answered  the  landlady.  "The 
gentleman  who  left  it  seemed  much  disappointed  at  not 
finding  you  in,  and  said  he  would  like  to  write  a  line  for 
you.  So  he  came  in  and  wrote  the  note  I  have  given  you, 
and  begged  me  not  to  forget  to  deliver  it  the  instant  you 
returned,  for  life  or  death  might  hang  on  it." 

11  p 


242    x    THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Strange ! "  muttered  Prescott,  after  the  landlady  had 
left  him.  "  Why  did  n't  he  inquire  where  I  could  be 
found  ?  But  all  men  are  not  born  Solomons,  and  he  must 
have  been  in  a  driving  hurry.*  Well,  he  's  a  good  fellow, 
and  has  done  what  he  could,  that 's  evident." 

He  now  commenced  pacing  his  room  impatiently,  at  the 
same  time  re-reading  the  letter. 

"  Why  did  n't  the  man  think  to  tell  me  where  she  was  ? " 
he  again  muttered.  "  The  hackman  be  hanged  !  I  should 
have  been  half-way  there  by  this  time,  instead  of  making 
these  boards  creak  under  my  boots  !  Poor  child !  Poor 
child!  And  what  of  the  rest  of  this  unhappy  family? 
Dead,  perhaps ! "  Then,  after  a  silent  pacing  of  several 
moments,  he  clenched  his  hand  and  exclaimed,  "  If  that 
coachman  is  five  minutes  late  I  '11  strangle  him  ! " 

But  the  hack  drove  up  to  the  door  just  on  the  hour. 

"  I  had  promised  myself  to  strangle  you  if  you  were 
behind  time,"  said  Prescott,  with  a  half-laugh,  as  he  pre 
pared  to  enter  the  coach. 

"No  danger  of  that  on  such  an  errand  as  this,  sir,  I 
assure  "y°u." 

"  That 's  a  good  fellow  !    Don't  spare  the  horses." 

"  Never  fear,  sir." 

The  clatter  of  the  horses'  hoofs  and  the  rattling  of  the 
coach-wheels  gave  evidence  to  Prescott  that  the  coachman 
was  in  earnest. . 

The  drive  seemed  long  and  interminable  to  the  anx 
ious  soldier.  The  coach  whirled  from  street  to  street 
until  he  thought  the  whole  city  must  have  been  travelled 
over. 

Finally  they  stopped  before  a  tenement  in  which  Pres 
cott,  as  he  beheld  it  by  the  gas-light,  judged  poverty 
reigned  in  all  its  hideous  deformity,  and  the  coachman 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       243 

sprang  to  the  sidewalk.  He  was  instantly  accosted  by  a 
man  who  had  evidently  been  waiting,  and  who  now  spoke 
a  few  words  to  him  in  a  low  tone. 

"All  right,"  he  returned  loud  enough  for  his  passenger 
to  hear. 

Then  opening  the  coach  door,  he  said,  — 

"  The  girl  has  been  carried  to  more  comfortable  quarters 
just  above.  Shall  I  drive  you  there  ? " 

"  Don't  stop  to  ask,  but  drive  ahead." 

The  coach  again  rattled  over  the  pavements,  and  pres 
ently  drew  up  before  a  substantial  brick  building. 

"  She  has  been  brought  here,"  said  the  driver,  as  he 
opened  the  door  to  let  Prescott  out. 

The  door  of  the  house  was  opened  as  he  ascended  the 
steps. 

He  entered,  and  the  hackman,  with  a  meaning  gesture, 
remounted  his  seat,  and  taking  the  reins  in  his  hands 
prepared  to  drive  off. 


CHAPTEK  XXX 

THE  door  closed  on  the  young  Lieutenant  with  an 
ominous  sound  that  did  not  fail  to  strike  ears  ren 
dered  alert  by  service  in  the  midst  of  an  enemy's  country. 
Impatient  though  he  was  to  see  the  child  he  had  been 
ostensibly  driven  hither  to  help,  his  soldierly  intuitions 
caused  fyim  to  take  a  glance  about  him. 

He  heard  a  distant  howl,  and  at  the  same  time  a  power 
fully  built  man  with  a  brutal  face  crossed  the  lower  end  of 
the  hall,  glancing  toward  him,  as  he  passed,  with  a  wolfish 
look. 


244  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

He  perceived,  also,  that  the  man  who  had  admitted  him 
was  strongly  built,  witty  the  same  wolfish  countenance. 

All  at  once  a  terrible  suspicion  flashed  across  his  mind. 
He  would  test  it. 

"  A  moment,"  he  said,  stepping  back  "  I  wish  to  speak 
to  the  coachman." 

He  laid  hold  of  the  door,  but  he  could  not  open  it ! 

Turning  to  the  man  by  his  side  he  said  in  a  low  but 
commanding  voice,  — 

"  Will  you  be  so  kind  as  to  open  this  door  ? " 

"You  had  better  see  the  child  first,"  answered  the  man 
with  an  ill-concealed  look  of  brutal  triumph. 

"  Open  this  door ! " 

The  young  Lieutenant's  eyes  blazed  as  he  uttered  this 
command  in  a  tone  as  short,  quick,  and  distinct,  as  he 
would  have  given  an  order  on  the  battle-field. 

The  man  saw  his  game  was  up,  and  with  a  mocking 
laugh  he  said, — 

"Them  ain't  the  sort  of  orders  we  calculate  to  obey  in 
this  'ere  place,  my  young  cove." 

Prescott  now  shook  the  d<$or  violently. 

"  Open  it ! "  he  cried,  "  or  I  '11  batter  it  down  with  your 
skull!" 

"  Well ! "  exclaimed  the  fellow,  sending  a  leering  glance 
down  the  hall  where  the  other  man  had  crossed,  "if  'ere 
ain't  a  mad  un,  an'  no  mistake  ! "  Then,  putting  his  hand 
to  his  mouth,  he  cried :  "  Say,  Gryper  I  here  's  a  patient 
that 's  crazy  as  a  loon !  Jest  bear  a  hand ! " 

Prescott 's  terrible  suspicion  was  confirmed.  He  was  in 
a  mad-house ! 

But  this  active  and  determined  young  soldier  was  not 
one  to  yield  without  a  struggle  to  the  fate  prepared  for  him. 
With  a  spring  as  quick  as  the  tiger's  he  planted  a  blow  on 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       245 

the  attendant's  forehead  that  felled  him  like  an  ox.  Then 
leaping  to  the  door  he  hastily  sought  the  fastenings. 

Suddenly  he  felt  himself  clasped  by  two  powerful  arms 
around  the  body ;  and  then  he  was  dragged  back  from  the 
door. 

In  another  moment  he  heard  the  sound  of  many  feet,  — 
a  cloth  was  thrown  over  his  head, — and  as  numberless 
strong  hands  were  laid  on  him  he  Was  tripped  up  by  a 
skilful  and  vigorous  stroke,  and,  after  one  tremendous 
struggle,  lay  at  the  mercy  of  his  assailants. 

He  thought  with  a  shudder  of  the  strait-jacket,  and 
expected  every  moment  to  feel  its  horrid  embrace.  This 
did  not  seem,  however,  to  be  the  intention  of  his  captors 
at  present.  They  simply  bound  his  hands,  and  then  a 
rough  voice  commanded  him  to  rise. 

"  I  '11  obey  no  •  orders  here ! "  he  exclaimed  in  muffled 
tones,  but  with  determination. 

"  He 's  dangerous  !  secure  him  and  put  him  in  No.  7  ! " 
cried  a  shrill  voice  from  the  hall  above. 

"  Tie  his  feet,  and  we  '11  obey  the  doctor's  orders ! " 
responded  he  who  had  bid  him  rise. 

His  feet  were  bound  accordingly,  and  then  he  felt  him 
self  raised  in  two  or  three  pairs  of  sturdy  arms,  and  borne 
away,  his  head  still  covered  by  the  cloth,  while  another 
of  his  captors,  whom  he  recognized  as  the  attendant  he 
had  knocked  down,  sang  out  with  frightful  cadftice,  — 

"  The  dead  !  the  dead  !  who  '11  bear  the  dead  ? 
The  coffin  waits  !  who  '11  bear  the  dead  ? " 

which  was  followed  by  a  laugh  of  mocking  merriment, 
accompanied  by  the  scuffling  of  feet. 

He  heard  door  after  door  open,  until  at  length  he  felt  a 
current  of  cool  air  at  the  same  time  that  he  found  him 
self  being  carried  down  a  flight  of  stairs. 


246       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

He  now  heard  howls,  and  peals  of  insane  laughter,  and 
for  an  instant  he  thought  himself  in  the  confines  of  Pande 
monium.  He  could  not  prevent  a  shudder  as  he  wondered 
if  those  that  bore  him  were  about  to  fling  him  into  the 
den  of  one  of  these  howling  wretches,  as  the  Caesars  drove 
the  doomed  Christian  martyrs  into  the  jaws  of  roaring 
beasts  of  prey. 

When  the  suspicion  flashed  across  his  mind  in  the  hall 
above  that  he  was  in  a  mad-house,  instantaneously  with 
that  suspicion  had  come  before  him  the  sinister  and  mur 
derous  visages  of  Garvin,  Slaycut,  alias  Fitch,  and  Dror- 
blude,  alias  Eatter.  That  this  was  a  sequence  of  that 
unexpected  meeting  of  the  previous  day  he  was  fully  con 
vinced;  and  knowing  well  that  no  crime  would  be  too 
great  for  them,  and  having  already  become  aware  of  Gar- 
vin's  diabolical  method  of  accomplishing  his  aims,  he  had 
good  cause  to  shudder  as  he  now  felt  himself  borne  down 
into  that  chilly  air,  and  heard  the  howls  and  laughter  of 
the  confined  maniacs. 

The  voice  that- had  bawled  the  sombre  cadence  above 
k  now  sang  again,  this  time  the  singer  bringing  his  foot  down 
with  emphasis  on  the  descending  steps  in  time  to  his  atro 
cious  verse :  — 

"  Sweet  songsters  of  this  stony  deep, 

We  bring  you  merry  company. 
*     He  '11  make  ye  laugh,  he  '11  make  ye  weep, 
He  will,  I  swear  by  Jemminy  ! " 

The  young  Lieutenant  felt  the  arms  under  him  shake 
with  the  suppressed  laughter  that  followed  this  essay. 
Then  a  voice  at  his  head  cried  out,  — 

"  Stop  that,  Mat !  You  '11  make  me  laugh  till  I  drop 
'irn ! " 

*'  All  right,"  responded  the  singer,  closing  a  guttural 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       247 

• 

laugh  in  which  he  had  himself  indulged  by  repeating  in  a 
sort  of  double  bass  hum, — 

"  The  dead  !  the  dead  !  who  '11  bear  the  dead  ? 
The  coffin  waits  !  who  '11  bear  the  dead  ? " 

By  this  time  they  had  reached  the  bottom  of  the  stair 
way,  and  Prescott  felt  as  if  he  would  like  just  one  leg  free 
to  kick  the  malicious  songster,  who  was  evidently  affected 
by  the  crazy  atmosphere  about  him,  from  basement  to  roof. 

The  next  moment  he  was  thrust  into  a  cell,  in  which  he 
heard  the  inpoherent  gibbering  of  a  maniac,  the  cords  were 
cut  from  his  limbs,  the  thick  door  was  closed  with  a  dull 
slam,  and  the  bolt  turned  upon  him. 


CHAPTEE    XXXI. 

DANIEL  GABVIN  again  waits  in  his  office  after  the 
shades  and  silence  of  night  have  succeeded  the  din 
and  confusion  of  the  day's  financial  struggles.  He  has 
reckoned  his  gains,  and,  on  this  occasion,  his  losses,  and 
now  sits  with  one  hand  clenched  upon  the  table,  while  the 
deep-wrinkling  scowl,  and  the  general  look  of  bitterness, 
fierceness,  and  hatred  that  mark  his  unattractive  features, 
tell  of  some  unusual  agitation. 

That  look  of  self-complacency  and  self-confidence,  for 
merly  so  characteristic  of  him,  has  given  place  to  an  ex 
pression  in  which  passionate  and  desperate  determination 
predominates. 

At  a  moment  when  he  had  congratulated  himself  on  the 
success  of  his  long-contemplated  schemes,  whereby  avarice 
and  revenge  were  to  be*  satiated ;  when,  with  the  air  of 
some  devastating  monster  of  the  fairy-books,  he  beheld 


248        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"before  him  nothing  but  impotence  and  fear,  and  had  al 
ready  begun  to  mock  his  unfortunate  victims,  who  seemed 
beyond  all  chance  of  aid,  —  at  this  moment  a  champion 
had  appeared  upon  the  scene,  whose  puissant  blows  had 
already  shattered  the  gateway  of  his  infernal  fortress, 
and  now  threatened  to  lop  off  his  own  abhorrent  head. 

Daniel  Garvin  prided  himself  on  the  power  of  his  intel 
lect  to  accomplish  what  he  might  undertake.  He  revelled, 
as  we  have  seen,  in  the  game  in  which  living  men  shoultt 
stand  as  the  pieces  on  his  chess-board.  He  had  come  to 
believe  himself  invincible  in  any  such  game,  when  suffi 
cient  inducements  were  offered  for  him  to  engage  in  it 
with  the  whole  force  of  his  will.  But  he  now  sits  with 
his  clenched  hand  upon  the  table,  and  his  features  distorted 
by  desperate  passion,  because  he  has  suddenly  found  him 
self  in  danger  of  utter  defeat  in  the  contest  of  intellectual 
forces,  and  is  compelled  to  resort  for  safety  to  those  means 
which,  while  he  is  capable  of  any  deed  that  promises  to 
save  him  from  defeat  and  ruin,  he  has  heretofore  ascribed  to 
the  ignorant  and  brutal  villains  of  a  sensational  romance. 

At  length  a  low  series  of  taps  on  the  outer  door  caused 
him  to  start  with  a  sort  of  guilty  terror  that  was  un 
doubtedly  new  in  his  experience,  and  for  a  moment  he 
stared  toward  the  door  without  attempting  to  rise. 

A  renewal  of  the  taps  brought  him  to  his  feet,  and  going 
to  the  door  with  a  creeping  step  which  we  have  not  before 
seen  in  him,  he  unfastened  it,  when  the  hag,  Mammy 
Roone,  walked  in. 

This  man  of  inordinate  egotism  becomes  almost  an  ob 
ject  of  pity,  as  we  behold  him  now  compelled  to  lead  this 
revolting  old  woman  into  his  private  office,  there  to  make 
her  a  partner  in  the  execution  of  his  endangered  schemes. 

She  remained  with  him  an  hour. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       249 

When  they  came  forth  two  faces  presented  themselves 
that  would  have  furnished  studies  not  often  obtained  by 
even  a  Le  Brun.  Mammy  Eoone's  horrible  visage  was  lit 
up  by  a  ferocious  smile,  while  the  dark  face  of  the  broker 
was  made  scarcely  less  horrible  by  an  expression  in  which 
devilish  malignancy  was  mingled  with  an  irrepressible 
fear,  and  withal  an  air  of  fierce  disgust  and  loathing,  as 
he  furtively  glanced  at  the  foul  instrument  of  his  designs. 

An  hour  afterwards  Mammy  Eoone  was  in  secret  con 
ference  with  two  characters  whom  we  have  also  met  with 
before,  —  Dick  Smasher,  and  him  whom  that  burly  ruf 
fian  denominated  the  "  Doctor." 

"  Well,  me  lads,"  said  the  hag,  after  having  opened  the 
business  she  had  on  hand,  "  how  does  ye  like  this  swate 
job  ?  for  swate  it  must  be  to  both  of  yez,  I  'm  thinking." 

"  Yes,  sweet  and  pretty,"  answered  Dick  Smasher.  "  I  'd 
give  that  mighty  fine  soldier  a  few  taps  that  'd  put  'im  to 
sleep  according  to  regulation." 

This  witticism  caused  the  "  Doctor  "  to  break  out  into  a 
fit  of  thin,  dyspeptic  laughter. 

"  S-h  !  "  commanded  Mammy  Eoone,  her  own  repulsive 
features  relaxing  into  a  responsive  grin,  which  revealed  in 
all  their  horrid  array  the  broken  fangs  that  she  would 
have  so  relished  to  fasten  in  Emma's  soft  and  rounded 
flesh;  "do  ye  both  mind  that  the  walls  about  us  have 
ears!" 

"  All  right,  mammy,"  returned  the  "  Doctor  "  ;  "  but  that 
'ere  joke  about  the  taps  broke  on  me  all  of  a  sudden. 
You  see  the  pictur'  of  Dick's  tapping  that  'ere  big  sheep's 
head  for  tallow  was  too  funny.  Why,  dagger  it !  atween 
his  taps  and  my  lancet  we  '11  have  'im  laid  out  on  his 
bunk  quick  'n  regulation  specifies.  Won't  we,  Dick  ? " 
11* 


250       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"Don't  ye  go  for  being  so  confident,  Doctor,"  said  Dick, 
dubiously.  "  You  were  fast  asleep,  yerself,  when  this  big 
fellow  got  his  fives  on  me:" 

The  "  Doctor  "  did  n't  seem  to  relish  this  reminder. 

"  Mver  ye  mind,"  broke  in  the  old  woman,  as  she  ob 
served  the  scowl  on  his  murderous-looking  features.  "  The 
Smasher  himself  did  n't  come  away  from  the  young  gin- 
tleman's  fine  fist  without  a  beauty  spot ;  that 's  what  ye  '11 
not  be  denying,  me  honey." 

The  powerful  shoulder-hitter  could  bear  twitting  better 
than  his  weaker  but  more  murderous  companion. 

"  No,  I  '11  deny  it  not ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  That  young 
chicken  's  got  the  true  .grit,  and  th'  science  to  back  it  up. 
I  'd  give  'im  a  shake  of  my  hand  any  time  he  'd  ask  for 'it." 

"  D — n  him  ! "  muttered  the  other,  "  I  'd  give  'im  a  prick 
of  my  lancet ! " 

"Well,  never  mind  about  that,  young  man,"  returned 
Dick.  "Give  'im  a  taste  of  yer  blood-letter  when  you 
get  the  chance ;  but.  let  me  tell  you  that  the  man  you  've 
got  to  deal  with,  if  ye  take  hold  of  this  'ere  job,  ain't  so 
sure  of  taking  a  lancet.  -Ye  'd  better  have  a  plenty  of 
powder  and  ball,  and  the  Devil  take  the  '  peeler '  that  dis 
turbs  ye!" 

"Yis,  it 's  betther  to  be  prepared  ag'inst  accidents;  an' 
that  is  what  me  owld  man  would  always  be  afther  saying, 
the  Holy  Virgin  protict  his  blissed  soul !  and  tin  thousand 
curses  descind  on  the  heads  of  every  mither's  son  of  a 
Union  sowldhier  in  Purgatory ! " 

As  Mammy  Eoone  commenced  this  sentence,  she  spoke 
in  a  low  subdued  voice ;  but  ere  she  had  ended  her  tones 
had  risen — on  memory  of  the  deceased  Patrick  Eoone's 
fate  —  to  a  pitch  of  savage  frenzy. 

"Easy!"  uttered  Dick  Smasher,  with  a  glance  at  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  251 

walls  of  the  room.  "  Don't  be  forgetting  that  ye  told  us  a 
spell  ago  that  walls  have  ears.  Now,  I  guess  the  Doctor 
and  myself  will  undertake  this  delicate  job,  for  that  leetle 
pile  of  greenbacks  ye  Ve  agreed  to  lay  down.  How  is 
it  with  ye,  Doctor?" 

"  Count  me  in,  an'  this  ere  professional  instrument,  too," 
returned  the  "  Doctor,"  at  the  same  time  drawing  a  long, 
keen  knife  from  his  bosom,  and  laying  it  down  with  a 
smile  of  satisfaction  on -the  table. 

"  Bah  ! "  muttered  Dick  Smasher  to  himself.  "  I  'd  bet 
ten  to  one  I  could  knock  the  wind  out  of  him  every  time 
afore  he  could  scratch  my  waistcoat  with  his  confounded 
skin-pricker ! " 

"  Ye  '11  say  it 's  a  good  bit  of  work  Mammy  Roone's 
secured  for  yez  whin  ye  '11  be  afther  countin'  thim  same 
granebacks,"  hissed  rather  than  spoke  the  beldam,  who 
could  not  suppress  a  grin  that  made  her  auditors  question 

whether  they  were  not  themselves  in  Purgatory. 

***** 

Days  had  passed,  and  nothing  had  been  heard  from  Pres- 
cott  Marland.  The  Veteran  had  called  repeatedly  at  his 
boarding-house,  but  his  landlady,  of  whom  Prescott  was  a 
favorite,  and  who  was  in  a  great  state  of  alarm,  could  give 
only  one  answer,  which  was  that  she  had  heard  nothing 
from  him  since  the  evening  she  had  delivered  him  the 
note  left  by  the  stranger  who  had  displayed  such  extraor 
dinary  anxiety. 

The  Veteran  endeavored  to  assure  her  that  she  need  feel 
no  alarm ;  but  she  had  learned  to  expect  any  form  of  crime 
in  New  York,  and  her  fears  could  not  be  allayed.  As  for 
himself  he  had  his  own  thoughts.  Prescott's  disappearance 
immediately  followed  his  visit  to  him  when  he  made  known 
his  rencounter  with  the  Western  impostors  at  Cringar's 


252  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

store,  and  his  quick  mind  was  not  long  left  in  doubt  as  to 
the  man  whose  interests  were  involved  in  this  disappear 
ance,  and  whose  scruples  would  not  interfere  with  any 
action  necessary  to  secure  his  own  safety,  or  the  safety  of 
a  scheme  which  the  discovery  made  by  Prescott  would  so 
seriously  compromise. 

It  was  about  ten  o'clock  at  night.  He  was  returning  to 
his  rooms  after  a  visit  to  Prescott's  boarding-house,  where 
he  had  been  detained  by  an  endless*  string  of  surmises  from 
the  landlady  regarding  her  favorite  boarder's  extraordinary 
absence. 

Suddenly  he  felt  himself  plucked  by  the  sleeve,  and  on 
turning  discovered  a  boy  who  seemed  to  be  in  great  trepi 
dation. 

After  looking  cautiously  around,  this  boy  thrust  a  piece 
of  folded  paper  into  his  hand,  and  then  placing  his  finger 
to  his  lips  he  whispered,  "  I  durn't  risk  being  seen  with 
you,"  and  then  with  the  words,  "I  '11  see  you  ag'in  to 
morrow,"  he  disappeared. 

Two  thoughts  instantly  flashed  through  the  Veteran's 
mind.  One"  was  the  suspicion  that  here  was  some  kind  of 
trap  set  for  him  similar  to  that  which  he  was  assured  had 
been  set  for  Prescott ;  the  other  was  the  hope  that  it  might 
possibly  convey  lona  fide  intelligence  of  the  whereabouts 
of  his  missing  young  friend. 

Approaching  the  nearest  street-lamp,  he  opened  the 
paper  and  read  the  following,  written  in  a  coarse  hand :  — 

"  General  Hamond  i  am  hired  to  watch  a  young  man  named 
Prescot  marland.  i  carnt  Stand  it  no  longer  and  if  You  wil 
com  and  help  me  we  can  git  him  away,  he  told  me  to  call  you 
thorbolt  and  then  you  wood  know  that  he  is  Realy  here,  come 
tonite  or  i  ain  Affrade  it  wil  be  to  late,  i  send  my  son  with 
this  meet  me  at  haf  parst  ten  at  the  corner  of  prince  and 
Green  streets." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       253 

The  Veteran  read  this  singular  missive  over  two  or  three 
times.  Was  it  indeed  a  trap  for  himself,  or  did  it  really 
open  the  way  to  the  discovery  of  the  trap  into  which 
Prescott  had  been  inveigled?  The  question  was,  Would 
he  risk  forsaking  his  comrade  by  refusing  to  go  to  the 
place  appointed  by  this  note,  or  would  he  risk  his  own 
safety  by  going  ? 

With  a  man  of  his  character  the  time  occupied  by  such 
a  discussion  was  but  short.  He  balanced  a  heavy  walking- 
stick  in  his  hand  an  instant,  and  then  stepping  up  to  a 
patrolman  who,  in  a  doorway  near  by,  had  been  a  silent 
observer  of  all  that  had  passed,  he  inquired  the  way  to  the 
place  designated  in  the  note.  The  latter  instructed  him  as 
.desired,  and  he  directed  his  steps  accordingly. 

But  this  patrolman,  though  a  silent  observer,  had  not 
been  a  disinterested  one.  He  had  recognized  the  boy  by 
the  street-lamp,  and  he  instantly  suspected  foul  play.  He 
said  nothing  to  the  Veteran,  however,  but  followed  him  at 
a  distance  just  sufficient  to  keep  him  in  sight. 

At  length  the  object  of  this  watchful  officer's  attention 
passed  out  of  his  beat. 

Another  was  soon  notified,  who  continued  on  the  track. 

Finally,  after  one  or  two  inquiries  of  passers-by,  the 
Veteran  found  himself  nearing  the  appointed  spot. 

He  now  began  very  ardently  to  hope  that  the  missive  was 
genuine,  and  that  he  might  hear  something  of  the  young 
Lieutenant,  whom  he  loved  as  a  son ;  and  especially  was 
he  anxious  that  something  might  result  to  clear  the. gloom 
which  the  ominous  absence  of  this  noble  and  generous 
friend  had  cast  over  that  home  in-Vandam  Street,  where 
his  presence  had  come  to  be  depended  upon  as  the  sun 
light. 

But  this  hope  did  not  cause  him  to  relax  his  grasp  on 
his  heavy  walking-stick. 


254        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Suddenly  as  he  passed  a  small  alley  his  meditations 
were  aroused  by  what  sounded  to  his  ears  as  a  cry  of  dis 
tress. 

He  stopped  and  listened.  The  cry  again  reached  him, 
and  this  time  it  was  surely  a  smothered  appeal  for  help, 
and  was  accompanied  by  sounds  of  a  murderous  struggle. 

Tightening  the  gripe  upon  his  heavy  cane,  he  hastened 
with  his  long  stride  down  the  alley. 

This  alley  opened  into  a  small  yard  piled  with  rubbish, 
in  which  the  Veteran  speedily  found  himself.  Here  he 
stopped  and  looked  about  him. 

At  the  same  instant  a  slung-shot  descended  obliquely 
from  behind  with  tremendous  force,  and  striking  on  the 
side  of  the  hat,  fell  with  great  violence  on  his  shoulder. 

Simultaneously  with  this  attack  a  man  with  a  motion 
like  a  great  rat  sprang  from  behind  a  pile  of  old  wood,  with 
a  long  knife  in  his  hand  ;  and  as  he  saw  the  gigantic  figure 
before  him  reel  under  the  blow  of  the  slung-shot,  he  cried 
with  a  suppressed  yell  of  uncontrollable  exultation  as  he 
leaped  for  this  figure  while  his  deadly  blade  threw  off  a 
swift  gleam  in  the  starlight,  — 

"  One  for  the  Lancet  and  Mammy  Eoone  ! " 

But  he  reckoned  without  his  host.  The  unusual  height 
of  the  intended  victim  had  disconcerted  his  confederate's  aim, 
and  though  reeling  under  the  assault  at  his  back,  the  Veteran 
instantly  proved  that  he  was  not  disabled  ;  for  raising  his 
walking-stick  with  the  instinct  of  a  cavalryman,  he  made 
a  rear  mouleaut,  and  catching  the  glint  of  the  murderous 
steel  in  the  uplifted  hanck  of  his  second  assailant  he  brought 
his  improvised  but  formidable  weapon  down  with  a  front 
cut,  delivering  so  fearful  a  blow  that  the  skull  upon  which 
it  descended  was  crushed  in  like  a  shell,  —  and  the  "  Doc 
tor  "  dropped  to  the  ground,  with  the  knife  still  grasped  in 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       255 

his  hand,  but  not  again  to  be  used  with  its  owner's  vaunted 
professional  skill,  for  that  owner  was  now  dead. 

With  a  curse  Dick  Smasher,  whose  aim  with  the  slung- 
shot  had  been  so  faulty,  now  drew  a  pistol,  levelled  it  at 
the  head  of  the  man,  who  through  his  prodigious  strength 
threatened  to  become  master  of  the  situation,  and  fired. 

The  massive  form  of  the  Veteran  swayed  for  a  moment, 
and  then  fell  extended  at  full  length  on  the  earth. 

An  alarm  now  pierced  the  air,  and  steps  were  heard 
hurrying  along  the  street  and  up  the  alley,  and  the  as 
sassin,  with  a  curse  on  all  intermeddling  "  peelers,"  leaped 
the  fence  and  disappeared  just  as  the  patrolman  who  had 
been  following  the  Veteran  entered  the  yard. 

With  a  watchman's  habit,  the  new-comer  took  a  hasty 
survey  of  the  field,  and  then  listened.  In  the  next  instant 
he  had  sprung  the  fence  in  pursuit  of  footsteps  which  his 
quick  ears  detected  as  retreating  stejDS  of  guilt. 

As  he  disappeared  a  second  patrolman  entered  on  the 
scene,  who  proceeded  to  examine  the  two  lifeless  men  who 
lay  extended  before  him. 

When  he  lifted  the  Veteran's  head  a  stream  of  crimson 
blood  flowed  from  a  wound  just  above  the  ear. 

"  He  's  gone !  and  a  superb  specimen  of  a  man  too,"  he 
muttered,  as  he  let  the  head  fall  back. 

Then  he  went  to  the  other,  and  when  his  hand  came  in 
contact  with  the  "  Doctor's  "  broken  skull  he  gave  utter 
ance  to  a  loud  "  Whew ! "  and  then,  as  lie  cast  his  eye  from 
the  glittering  knife,  still  clasped  by  the  dead  ruffian,  to  the 
heavy  cane  also  grasped  in  the  muscular  hand  of  its  lifeless 
owner,  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  This  fellow  might  as  well  have  had  a  tin  sword  ! " 

Kising,  he  looked  around  and  muttered  to  himself,  while 
he  awaited  the  signal  from  the  first  patrolman. 


256  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

In  another  moment  that  officer  reappeared,  his  pursuit 
having  been  unsuccessful. 

Men  who  had  heard  both  pistol-shot  and  alarm  now 
entered  the  yard  and  tendered  their  aid,  while  windows  in 
the  neighborhood  were  opened  and  utterances  of  horror  fol 
lowed  as  the  startled  gazers  beheld  two  inanimate  bodies 
carried  away,  leaving  what  their  strained  eyes  detected  in 
the  bright  starlight  as  dark  stains  on  the  gravel  and  rotten 
boards  of  the  old  yard  beneath  them. 

As  the  sombre  burdens  were  borne  into  the  street,  a 
small  man  of  active  movements  arrived,  and  with  pencil 
and  memorandum-book  in  hand  passed  from  one  body  to 
the  other,  making  examinations  and  asking  questions  of 
the  patrolmen,  which  they  attentively  answered,  he  being 
a  newspaper  reporter. 


CHAPTEK    XXXII. 

IN"  the  old  house  on  Yandam  Street  there  was  anxiety 
and  sorrow.  AVe  have  seen  the  Veteran  almost  for 
getting  any  probable  danger  to  himself,  as  he  neared  the 
place  of  rendezvous  appointed  in  the  note  which  the  boy 
had  given  him,  in  the  hope  that  something  might  really 
result  to  clear  the  gloom  from  the  hearts  of  those  who  had 
so  learned  to  love  the  noble  and  generous  Prescott  Mar- 
land. 

The  mother  loved  him  as  a  son,  and  the  young  chil 
dren  as  a  brother ;  and  both  mother  and  children  experi 
enced  a  distress  resulting  from  the  mysterious  disappear 
ance  of  their  favorite,  which  the  sympathetic  reader  will 
readily  comprehend. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  257 

i 

We  say  a  favorite ;  but  while  this  word  conveys  an  idea 
of  the  sentiments  of  welcome  with  which  they  were  wont 
to  receive  him  to  their  now  humble  home,  it  does  by  no 
means  express  the  profound  feelings  of  gratitude  and  affec 
tion  which  they  entertained  toward  him.  He  was  ever  so 
thoughtful,  so  kind,  so  considerate;  and,  withal,  he  had 
such  a  way  of  raising  them  out  of  a  consciousness  of  their 
present  sad  condition,  and  placing  them  for  the  time  being 
in  a  bright  sunlight,  which  had  the  effect  of  making  their 
hearts  lighter  and  their  lives  happier  during  the  time  that 
intervened  between  his  visits. 

And  then  he  of  all  others  had  a  power,  peculiarly  his 
own,  of  shedding  a  lustre  over  the  memory  of  the  patriot 
husband  and  father.  While  the  world  without  had  allowed 
itself  to  be  led  by  a  designing  knave  into  a  universal  judg 
ment,  which  was  but  little  short  of  a  denunciation  of  that 
husband  and  father  for  reckless  and  unscrupulous  conduct 
in  business,  this  feature  in  Prescott's  character,  this  fidelity 
to  the  memory  of  one  between  whom  and  himself  there 
had  existed  an  affection  so  pure  and  noble,  and  so  worthy 
the  great  cause  the  defence  of  which  had  brought  them 
together  wounded  and  disabled,  this  rare,  unswerving 
fidelity  was  calculated,  as  the  reader  may  readily  imagine, 
to  surround  him  in  the  midst  of  this  home  with  a  sort  of 
halo,  as  if  the  unseen  spirit  of  the  patriot  blessed  him  for 
his  steadfast  devotion  to  that  sacred  friendship. 

We  may  readily  surmise,  then,  what  sorrow,  what  grief 
must  have  been  theirs  as  they  waited  day  after  day  with 
no  word  from  this  missing  friend. 

But  what  shall  be  said  of  the  secret  anguish  of  that 
heart  which,  under  the  formal  relation  of  brother  and 
sister,  had  suffered  itself  to  become  gradually  so  absorbed 
that  its  very  life  depended  upon  the  responsive  love  of  the 


258       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

heart  of  him  over  whose  fate  there  hung  such  a  terrible 
uncertainty  ? 

Darkness  seemed  suddenly  to  have  closed  in  upon  her 
young  life.  As  she  looked  back  on  her  existence  in  that 
home  of  privation,  as  it  was  before  this  object  of  her  su 
preme  love  had  so  strangely  disappeared,  she  wondered 
how,  with  him  so  often  by  her  side,  she  could  have  ever 
supposed  it  otherwise  than  a  haven  of  unalloyed  happiness ; 
her  heart  offering  an  example  of  that  great  truth,  that  in 
life,  as  well  as  in  art,  the  highest  lights  and  deepest  shades 
are  relative,  depending  for  their  effect  on  those  contrasts 
which  the  hand  of  Providence  throws  into  the  existence  of 
men  with  all- wise  and  beneficent  spirit. 

In  the  midst  of  their  gloomy  anxiety  this  distressed 
family  had  indeed  found  one  friend  whose  influence  was 
strongly  exerted  toward  buoying  up  their  tried  and  dejected 
spirits.  This  friend  was  the  Veteran.  They  knew  that  if 
Prescott  was  alive  Thorbolt  would  never  rest  till  be  had  been 
found.  His  self-sacrificing  efforts  for  themselves  they  had 
almost  forgotten  in  the  contemplation  of  his  untiring  labors 
to  solve  the  mystery  that  hung  around  his  comrade's  dis 
appearance.  Since  the  latter's  abduction  he  had  not  failed 
to  call  on  them  every  day,  and  though  unable  to  report 
any  definite  progress  in  the  direction  which  now  interested 
all  so  deeply,  yet  his  presence  served  to  lighten  the  gloom, 
and  inspire  them  with  some  of  that  spirit  which  in  him 
seemed  ever  to  ride  the  storm  with  an  unwavering  faith 
in  the  Almighty  Disposer  of  events. 

On  the  same  evening  that  he  was  led  into  the  snare  of 
assassins  through  his  anxiety  for  the  fate  of  his  comrade, 
he  had  made  one  of  these  welcome  calls,  and  had,  by  more 
than  ordinary  effort,  succeeded  in  planting  in  their  hearts 
a  feeling  of  hope  such  as  they  had  not  before  experienced ; 


THE  VETEKAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  259 

and  when  lie  left  them  the  mother  had  turned  to  Emma 
and  said,  — 

"  This  self-sacrificing  soldier  deserves  the  richest  bless 
ings  which  Heaven  can  vouchsafe !  He  seems  a  grand 
and  noble  guardian,  and  I  feel  myself  to  be  a  child  in  his 
presence ! " 

But  not  many  hours  were  to  pass  ere  another  blow  was 
to  fall,  which  would  wellnigh  crush  them  to  the  earth. 

On  the  morning  following  this  last-mentioned  visit  of 
the  Veteran,  the  family  were  seated  around  their  humble 
breakfast-table,  of  whom  Albert,  who  was  now  convales 
cent,  formed  one  of  the  number,  when  a  light  nervous  rap 
announced  a  visitor. 

Alice  opened  the  door,  and  William  Garvin  entered, 
looking  pale  and  anxious. 

This  innocent  son  of  a  guilty  father  was  an  occasional 
visitor  to  the  present  home  of  his  aunt  and  cousins,  but 
never  had  he  called  before  at  this  hour  of  the  day.  An 
event,  therefore,  so  unusual,  together  with  his  agitation, 
filled  Mrs.  Paige  and  Emma  with  emotions  of  vague 
alarm. 

William  observed  the  effect  produced  by  his  unexpected 
visit,  which  tended  to  increase  his  agitation,  and  caused 
him  to  stammer  somewhat  in  his  speech  as,  unfolding  a 
paper  he  held  in  his  hand,  he  hurriedly  said,  — 

"Happening  this  way  this  morning,  and  hearing  the 
news-boys  crying  a  murder  in  the  city  last  night,  I  bought 
a  paper  ;  and  I  could  not  go  home  without  first  bringing  it 
to  you." 

Then  pointing  to  a  flaming  paragraph  headed  "HOR 
RIBLE  MURDER  ! "  he  handed  the  paper  to  his  anxious 
auditors. 

This  is  what  they  read :  — 


260  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GEAND  AKMY. 

"  HORRIBLE  MURDER  ! ! ! 
"A  GENERAL  OP  THE  UNION  ARMY  THE  VICTIM  ! 

"  Last  night  one  of  the  most  horrible  affairs  that  has  ever 
cursed  this  city  of  horrible  deeds  occurred  about  half  past  ten 
o'clock,  in  the  vicinity  of  Prince  Street.  At  the  time  mentioned 
Patrolman  McNeal  was  instructed  by  Patrolman  Owen  that 
a  stranger  who  had  just  left  his  beat,  and  whom  he  pointed  out 
ahead,  was  likely  to  be  led  on  to  some  foul  play,  and  suggested 
his  keeping  his  eye  on  him.  Officer  McNeal  accordingly  followed 
and  kept  him  in  sight.  Presently  he  observed  the  stranger, 
who  was  evidently  a  man  of  much  more  than  ordinary  size, 
turn  suddenly  into  an  alleyway.  He  now  quickened  his  steps, 
and  had  nearly  arrived  at  the  passage  when  he  heard  the  sharp 
report  of  a  pistol.  Hastening  down  the  alley  he  discovered  in 
a  small  back  yard  two  bodies  stretched  on  the  earth.  He 
instantly  sounded  an  alarm,  and  thinking  he  heard  the  footsteps 
of  the  flying  assassin  in  an  adjoining  yard  he  gave  pursuit,  but 
without  success.  Returning  he  found  Patrolman  Darley  on 
the  ground.  Here  was  a  fearful  sight.  In  a  pool  of  gore  lay 
the  victim,  a  man  of  immense  size,  with  a  fearful  wound  from 
a  bullet  in  the  side  of  his  head,  who  was  instantly  identified  by 
Patrolman  McNeal,  himself  a  returned  soldier,  as  General  Ham 
mond,  the  celebrated  cavalry  leader.  And  even  in  death  his 
terrible  arm  seems  to  have  proved  too  formidable  for  at  least 
one  of  his  assailants.  In  his  hand  was  still  grasped  a  heavy 
cane,  while  near  him  lay  the  second  body  —  which  was  instantly 
recognized  as  the  body  of  a  low  and  desperate  character  who 
has  usually  gone  under  the  sobriquet  of  the  Doctor  —  with  his 
skull  smashed  in  by  what  was  evidently  a  powerful  blow  from 
this  cane.  Persons  attracted  to  the  spot  by  the  report  of  the 
pistol  and  the  watchman's  alarm  now  lent  their  aid,  and  the 
bodies  were  conveyed  to  the  station-house.  Those  who  were  on 
the  ground  immediately  after  the  assassination  pronounce  the 
appearance  of  the  murdered  soldier  to  have  been,  with  all  its 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       261 

horror,  singularly  impressive.  So  great  was  his  size  that  it 
required  four  strong  men  to  carry  him.  His  face  was  a  grand 
one  in  that  sleep  of  sudden  death  ;  and  a  deep,  wide  scar  hol 
lowed  out  his  left  cheekbone  in  a  manner  sufficient  alone  to 
identify  him.  To  what  a  fate  has  this  veteran  of  a  hundred 
battles  been  doomed  ! " 

Emma,  who  had  borne  up  so  bravely  under  circum 
stances  that  would  try  the  strongest  natures,  turned  deadly 
pale,  and  fell  back  fainting  into  the  chair  from  which  she 
had  risen  to  read  that  terrible  account. 

Mrs.  Paige,  whose  hopes,  kindled  by  a  knowledge  of  the 
labors  of  the  Veteran  in  her  behalf,  were  in  this  instant 
utterly  extinguished,  turned  in  alarm  to  her  daughter,  and 
dropping  that  fatal  paper,  hastened  to  her  assistance,  while 
Alice,  also  hastening  to  her  aid,  exclaimed,  — 

"  0  mother !  what  has  happened  ?    Is  Prescott  —  ? " 

"No,"  interrupted  the  mother  with  a  warning  gesture. 
"  A  kind  Heaven  must  have  spared  him  to  us." 

In  the  mean  time  Albert  had  sprung  for  the  paper,  and 
his  quick  eye  having  caught  the  name  of  General  Ham 
mond  in  the  account  of  the  murder,  he  hastened  to  Alice, 
his  eyes  filled  with  grief  and  horror,  and  whispered  the 
story  in  her  ear. 

Alice's  face  in  turn  expressed  her  startled  emotions,  as 
she  continued  her  efforts  to  revive  her  fainting  sister. 

William  Garvin  on  his  part  stood  rooted  to  the  floor, 
looking  as  if  he  felt  himself  to  be  guilty  of  the  murder 
and  all  this  sudden  anguish. 

When  Emma  fainted  his  first  impulse  was  to  spring  to 
her  support ;  but  instantly  he  saw  the  mother  hasten  to 
perform  this  office  a  reaction  occurred.  Instead  of  flying 
to  her  assistance  he  felt  like  flying  from  her  presence. 


262       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTEK    XXXIII. 

MOEE  sensitive  and  more  morbid  even  than  when  we 
parted  with  him  on  the  evening  of  his  adventure 
with  the  ruffians  who  attempted  to  abduct  his  cousin,  the 
broker's  son  now  presents  a  complete  type  of  a  young,  sen 
sitive,  overwrought  mind,  scarcely  more  able  to  endure 
contact  with  the  every-day  world  than  are  certain  invalids 
to  endure  direct  rays  of  the  sun,  who  from  a  singular  dis 
ease  of  the  nervous  system  experience  the  most  acute 
physical  suffering  if  brought  in  contact  with  such  a  light. 

But  with  this  increased  morbid  sensitiveness  has  in 
creased  his  secret  adoration  of  his  charming  cousin.  To 
the  effect  of  her  beauty  has  been  added  the  influence  of  her 
misfortunes.  With  his  idealizing  and  dreaming  mind  noth 
ing  could  have  happened  more  calculated  to  enhance  his 
infatuation  than  the  event  by  which  she  had  been  driven 
from  the  home  where  in  early  days  he  had  been  wont  to 
join  with  her  in  the  sports  of  childhood,  and  where  as  years 
advanced  his  love  had  taken  root  and  grown  to  be  almost 
his  only  life. 

He  had  watched  the  progress  of  the  intimacy  between 
Emma  and  Prescott  Marland  with  feelings  that  are  well- 
nigh  indescribable.  Jealousy  is  scarcely  the  word  to  express 
these  emotions.  It  does  not  comprehend  that  feeling  in 
which  wonderment  and  a  profound  incredulity  are  mingled 
with  a  deep,  vague,  tormenting  anguish,  as  if  one  who  has 
lived  in  the  rapturous  contemplation  of  a  spirit  whom  he 
believes  to  be  his  guardian  angel,  should  awake  after  a  trou 
blesome  dream  to  find  this  spirit  suddenly  incarnated  and 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       263 

borne  away  before  his  eyes  by  a  man  of  the  most  un 
doubted  flesh  and  blood  of  this  material  worldr. 

When  the  news  of  Prescott's  disappearance  reached  his 
ears  he  experienced  sensations  equally  indescribable.  The 
first  impression  was  as  if  a  dark  shadow  had  quickly 
vanished  from  before  him.  Then  in  its  place  came  an 
other  shadow  caused  by  thoughts  of  the  inevitable  anguish 
of  her  whom  he  so  adored.  As  we  have  formerly  remarked, 
his  love  for  her  was  not  associated  with  ideas  of  posses 
sion  ;  it  was  an  adoration  through  which  he  saw  her  a 
being  to  be  possessed  by  no  mortal  man,  but  who,  exempt 
from  the  weaknesses  of  the  common  humanity,  was  created 
to  live  near  the  sky,  on  the  ideal  mount  and  in  the  ideal 
shades  allotted  her  by  his  adoring  fancies.  Therefore 
thoughts  of  possible  grief,  whatever  the  cause,  disturbing 
the  happiness  of  this  idealized  queen  of  his  secluded  life 
would  invariably  throw  a  shadowr  across  his  heart. 

As  days  passed  and  Prescott's  fate  seemed  more  and 
more  certain,  he  began  to  experience  a  feeling  which  par 
took  somewhat  of  superstition,  as  though  no  man  could 
possibly  presume  to  cast  such  glances  as  he  had  observed 
Prescott  direct  toward  Emma,  and  live  long  enough  to 
consummate  his  desires  in  possession.  And  that  such  a 
sentiment  existed  in  this  highly  fanciful  and  morbid  mind 
is  not  so  much  to  be  wondered  at  when  we  remember  that 
even  the  strongest  natures  will  yield  to  like  feelings, — 
such  as  refusing  with  vague  dread  to  give  a  child  a  name 
which  has  been  borne  successively  by  two  or  three  genera 
tions  of  ancestors,  all  of  whom  have  died  young  and  under 
the  same  circumstances;  and  other  innumerable  displays 
of  this  sort,  which  those  not  concerned  may  smile  at,  but 
who,  when  the  test  shall  come  to  them,  will  probably  be 
found  to  govern  their  actions  by  similar  motives. 


264       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

But  toward  the  Veteran  this  young  artist  entertained 
sentiments  as  exaggerated  in  their  way  as  were  his  senti 
ments  toward  his  fair  cousin.  As  Prescott  had  informed 
Thorbolt  in  the  interview  that  resulted  in  his  introduction 
to  Billings  the  book-keeper,  he  had  affirmed  that  the  pic 
ture  of  this  man  of  immense  stature,  as  he  first  appeared 
in  the  street  when  he  was  awakened  to  consciousness  by 
Emma's  shrieks,  and  saw  her  struggling  in  the  arms  of  the 
desperate  ruffian  who  was  bearing  her  away,  was  before  his 
eyes  continually  by  day  and  in  his  dreams  by  night,  —  a 
vision  that  conveyed  to  his  mind  a  realization  of  Homer's 
description  of  Jove  in  the  midst  of  war. 

Emma  he  associated  with  the  angels ;  the  Veteran  with 
the  gods.  There  was  that  in  the  majesty  of  the  latter's 
mien  and  the  lofty  dignity  of  his  mind  which  had  the 
effect  to  overwhelm  him.  When  in  his  presence  he  seemed 
to  have  no  mind  of  his  own  nor  individuality.  All  seemed 
absorbed  in  that  grand  character  whose  smile  or  frown 
caused  the  sun  of  his  life,  for  the  time  being,  either  to 
shine  with  inspiring  lustre  or  disappear  behind  dark  and 
gloomy  clouds. 

The  Veteran  had  met  William  at  the  house  in  which  the 
Paiges  now  lived,  and  had  requested  the  family  to  make 
known  to  him  his  desire  that  nothing  of  his  own  visits  to 
their  home  should  be  mentioned  outside  to  any  person 
whatever ;  thus  by  this  request  including  his  father  with 
out  specifying  him.  Emma  had  taken  it  upon  herself  to 
convey  this  request  to  William ;  and  coming  from  such  a 
source,  and  through  such  a  channel,  it  was  made  ten  times 
more  binding  than  the  law  of  the  Medes  and  Persians. 

So  far  as  his  father  was  concerned,  however,  there  was 
not  the  slightest  danger ;  for,  though  he  did  not  in  the 
least  apprehend  the  foul  business  of  which  this  parent  had 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       265 

been  guilty,  his  intuitions  told  him  that  relations  existed 
between  the  broker  and  his  half-brother's  family  which 
utterly  forbade  any  reference  to  his  visits  there.  We 
would  here  remark  that  the  Paiges  were  careful  never  to 
express,  in  any  way,  their  opinion  of  the  father's  actions  in 
the  presence  of  the  son. 

When  William  Garvin  opened  the  paper  in  the  street 
and  read  the  dreadful  news,  he  had  nearly  fallen  to  the 
pavement.  The  shock  was  tremendous.  An  unspeakable 
horror  seized  his  senses  as  if  the  very  sun  had  turned 
blood  red,  and  then  left  the  world  in  impenetrable  dark 
ness. 

That  man  of  sublime  strength !  of  superhuman  power ! 
with  the  majesty  of  a  god  !  —  he  dead  !  murdered  !  killed 
in  an  obscure  back  yard  by  a  beastly  ruffian,  the  bullet 
even  tainted  with  the  penitentiary  that  disgorged  him  ! 

This  young  idealist  was  stupefied,  and  for  an  instant 
everything  around  him  was  in  a  whirl.  The  earth  itself 
seemed  rolling  from  beneath  his  feet,  and  the  passers-by 
appeared  as  unreal  shadows  luridly  lit  up  by  red  letters 
which  formed  the  word  " MURDER!" 

Immediately  he  had  gathered  his  scattered  senses,  and 
was  able  to  look  at  the  reality  with  a  degree  of  under 
standing,  he  hastened  to  Vandam  Street,  near  which  he 
often  wandered  in  the  early  morning,  and  conveyed  the 
dreadful  news  in  the  manner  we  have  described. 

As  we  have  said,  his  first  impulse  when  his  cousin 
fainted  was  to  spring  to  her  support,  and  then  as  the 
mother  hastened  to  her  assistance  the  second  impulse  was 
to  fly.  He  felt  guilty  of  what  was  to  him  an  inexcusable 
rashness  in  thus  bursting  in  upon  them  with  his  startling 
and  melancholy  intelligence,  and  for  a  few  moments  he 
presented  a  picture  of  the  most  acute  mental  misery. 
12 


266  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

But  now,  as  lie  stood  gazing  upon  the  anguish-stricken 
group  before  him,  he  suddenly  experienced  an  emotion, 
vague  but  deep,  which  first  caused  within  him  a  strange 
and  ominous  tremor,  that  was  followed  almost  instantly  by 
an  overwhelming  sensation  as  if  the  very  soul  were  break 
ing  up  and  losing  its  past  identity. 

This  remarkable  agitation  was  the  result  of  a  powerful 
reaction.  Stupefied  as  he  was  by  the  perusal  in  the 
street  of  the  account  of  the  murder,  he  had,  as  we  have 
seen,  thought  of  nothing  after  but  to  rush  to  the  family  of 
his  deceased  uncle  to  break  to  them  the  news.  But  now 
as  he  contemplated  his  cousin  rendered  almost  unconscious 
by  the  terrible  blow  this  announcement  had  inflicted,  the 
full  realization  of  the  Veteran's  mortality,  with  all  its  de 
pendences  on  the  natural  laws  that  governed  him  with  the 
rest  of  our  common  humanity,  swept  in  upon  him.  And 
then  his  ideal  world  seemed  a  chaos,  without  shape  and  void, 
and  for  a  moment  objects  around  him  were  in  a  sort  of 
maze,  as  if  the  outer  world  were  passing  away  from  his 
vision. 

But  presently  these  objects  began  to  reassume  a  definite 
aspect.  His  now  reviving  cousin  especially  stood  out  in 
strong  relief  to  his  vision  like  the  central  figure  of  an  effec 
tive  painting,  and  the  object  of  his  gaze  happening  at  that 
moment  to  lift  her  sorrowful  eyes  to  his  face  was  startled 
by  the  new,  strange  look  which  appeared  there ;  and  con 
fused,  withal,  for  it  was  an  unmistakable  expression  of  the 
most  intense  and  all-devouring  love.  That  gaze  which 
heretofore  had  beamed  upon  her  with  a  timid  adoration, 
and  which  she  had  ascribed  to  the  natural  ardency  of  a 
young  artist,  who  would  contemplate  with  the  same  expres 
sion  everything  in  nature  to  which  his  soul  might,  in  an 
ideal  sense,  be  devoted,  —  this  gaze  had  suddenly  trans- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  267 

formed  itself,  and  now  gave  evidence  of  emotions  which  no 
heart  of  woman  can  mistake. 

A  blush  instantly  tinged  the  cheeks  of  this. maiden, 
whose  paleness,  combined  with  her  look  of  deep  sorrow, 
only  served  to  enhance  in  the  eyes  of  the  young  artist  that 
beauty  which  to  him  was  so  transcendent.  Instead  of  fall 
ing  to  the  ground,  as  but  an  hour  before  he  would  have 
expected,  if,  perchance,  he  should  blindly  permit  himself 
to  meet  her  eye  with  a  glance  of  such  fervid  love,  his  gaze 
remained  fixed,  while  it  continued  to  increase  in  the  in 
tensity  of  its  ardor  until  its  object,  no  longer  able  to  endure 
it,  cast  down  her  eyes  with  a  look  of  deep  pain. 

A  vague  thought  entered  Emma's  mind  that  this  sudden 
and  extraordinary  display  of  passion  was  but  a  sequence  of 
Prescott  Marland's  disappearance,  and  the  assassination  of 
the  Veteran,  and  an  exclamation  that  was  on  her  lips, 
when  she  revived  and  encountered  his  gaze,  was  only 
uttered  by  her  heart. 

"  0  Heaven ! "  was  the  unspoken  utterance,  "  this 
friend  murdered !  Then  never  shall  we  see  dear  Prescott 
again ! " 

The  mother,  who  was  bending  over  Emma,  now  rose, 
and  seeing  William  still  standing,  requested  him  to  be 
seated. 

Her  voice  thus  addressing  him  broke  the  spell ;  the  hot 
blood  rushed  to  the  very  roots  of  his  hair,  and  stammering 
out  an  incoherent  excuse,  he  hastily  departed  in  the  greatest 
confusion,  leaving  the  family  to  indulge  in  sacred  privacy 
a  grief  with  which  was  mingled  a  feeling  of  utter  loneliness 
and  desolation. 


268       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTEE    XXXIV. 

PT1HE  merchant  and  the  broker  both  read  that  morning 
-L  the  news  of  the  assassination. 

On  Jonas  Cringar  the  blow  descended  with  even  more 
deadly  force  than  was  experienced  by  the  family  of  his 
former  partner.  Since  the  hour  of  the  Veteran's  visit  to 
his  office  the  broker  had  concentrated  upon  this  unhappy 
man  the  entire  reserve  power  of  his  malevolent  will,  and 
his  eye  seemed  scarcely  a  moment  to  be  elsewhere  than  upon 
his  tormented  victim.  But  while  the  merchant  ha^d  nearly 
sunk  under  his  renewed  torments  he  did  not  utterly  lose 
the  hope  which  the  Veteran  at  the  close  of  his  interview 
with  him  had  inspired  in  his  breast.  He  felt  like  a  cap 
tive,  who,  being  tortured  at  the  stake,  expects  each  instant 
to  hear  the  rifle-shots  of  rescuing  friends. 

The  reader  may  well  imagine  his  emotions,  then,  when 
he  opened  the  morning  paper,  after  his  now  usual  night  of 
sleeplessness  and  horrid  dreams,  and  read  the  account 
which  we  have  transcribed  on  a  former  page. 

With  him  the  blow  came  with  the  more  crushing  weight, 
for  he  instantly  recognized  in  this  bloody  deed  the  hand  of 
Daniel  Garvin ;  and  to  the  mercy  of  a  desperate  assassin, 
as  well  as  an  infamous  schemer  and  robber,  he  felt  himself 
now  given  up  beyond  all  hope. 

As  for  Daniel  Garvin,  when  he  heard  the  cries  of  the 
news-boys  he  could  not  entirely  conceal  a  look  of  fierce 
expectation  as  he  bought  a  paper  and  opened  it. 

He  read  the  story,  and  instantly  the  cries  seemed  di 
rected  toward  him;  and  with  the  announcement  of  a 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        269 

"Horrible  Murder"  his  ears  were  pierced  with  what 
seemed  to  him  the  word  "MURDERER"  continually  re 
peated.  The  gnashing  of  his  teeth,  the  exultant  yet 
fearful  and  guilty  light  in  his  eye,  and  the  irrepressible 
shudder  which  seized  him  while  he  strode  the  street  with 
the  paper  clutched  convulsively  in  his  quivering  hand, 
told  of  the  terrible  commotion  within,  and  the  fierce  efforts 
this  hirer  of  assassins  was  making  to  control  himself. 

Arrived  at  his  office,  the  first  thing  his  eye  fell  upon  was 
the  same  detailed  account  with  its  flaming  heading  con 
fronting  him  on  a  table,  where  the  paper  containing  it 
had  been  thrown  by  the  clerk. 

He  seized  it  instantly  and  bore  it  from  sight  into  his 
private  office,  as  if  he  feared  his  guilt  was  there  pro 
claimed. 

After  a  while  the  fever  into  which  his  sudden  sense  of 
an  enormous  guilt  had  thrown  him  somewhat  subsided, 
and  this  untiring  plotter,  having  given  orders  not  to  be  in 
terrupted  for  an  hour,  began,  like  the  spider  that  has  beaten 
off  his  enemy,  to  take  a  survey  of  his  broken  web  prepara 
tory  to  making  it  whole  again. 

With  his  head  buried  in  his  hands  he  gathered  his 
thoughts  as  best  he  could,  and  concentrated  them  on  plans 
for  future  work. 

*  *  #  #  * 

Several  days  had  passed,  and  the  broker  again  sat  in  his 
rear  office  plunged  in  deep  and  troubled  meditation.  Sud 
denly  he  rose,  and  proceeding  to  the  door  ordered  the 
messenger  to  go  immediately  for  his  son  William. 

In  due  course  of  time  William  arrived,  and  was  imme 
diately  closeted  with  his  father. 

"  William,"  said  the  broker,  seating  his  son  opposite  him 
and  then  looking  intently  into  his  face,  —  "  William,  you 
are  old  enough  to  marry." 


270  THE  YETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND.  ARMY. 

William  reddened  and  slightly  trembled,  but  made  no 
answer. 

"  Would  you  not  like  to  marry  ? " 

The  young  artist  blushed  still  deeper,  but  continued 
silent,  while  he  gazed  at  his  father  with  evident  fear. 

"  Tell  me,  boy,  would  you  not  like  to  marry  ? "  repeated 
the  broker  in  a  voice  intended  to  be  soothing,  but  in  which 
the  penetrating  quality  of  an  authoritative  will  predomi 
nated. 

"I  —  I  —  can  —  can  —  not  —  say,"  stammered  the  son. 

"  Pshaw,  my  boy ! "  returned  the  father  with  a  grim 
.smile,  "  it  would  be  the  making  of  you.  You  would  be  a 
stronger  and  a  happier  man  by  marrying." 

The  young  artist  displayed  great  agitation,  but  answered 
not. 

The  broker  now  bent  forward,  and  bringing  his  face  close 
to  William's,  he  said,  — 

"  I  would  have  you  marry  immediately,  William." 

The  young  artist  now  stared  on  his  father  with  unmis 
takable  consternation.  This  father  was  about  to  command, 
and  he  had  never  up  to  this  time  dared  to  disobey  him. 

"Don't  be  so  frightened,"  said  Daniel  Garvin,  with  a 
light  laugh.  "  She  's  neither  a  stranger  nor  a  bugbear,  if 
your  father  is  any  judge  of  a  beautiful  young  woman.  I 
would  have  you  marry  your  cousin  Emma." 

William's  stare  changed  into  a  wild  sort  of  gleam,  and 
the  hot  blood  rushed  tumultuously  through  his  veins,  turn 
ing  his  face  and  neck  to  a  bright  scarlet. 

"  How  does  it  please  you,  boy  ? " 

Within  the  time  which  had  passed  since  he  hurried  in 
such  confusion  from  the  presence  of  that  adored  cousin, 
whose  lids  had  drooped  beneath  the  look  which  had  never 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       271 

before  appeared  in  his  timid  glances,  William  Garvin's 
whole  being  had  been,  as  it  were,  a  scene  of  incessant  and 
increasing  tumult.  The  blow  that  had  overthrown  the 
ideal  in  which  he  had  enshrined  the  grand  Thorbolt  had 
also  disturbed  the  ideal  world  in  which  he  had  spiritualized 
his  cousin,  and  suddenly,  as  we  have  formerly  seen,  passion 
revealed  its  ardent  presence ;  and  during  those  days  there 
had  been  going  on  a  strong  conflict  between  the  old  ideal 
and  this  new  passion,  which,  in  violation  of  long-cherished 
sentiments,  began  to  fill  his  heart  with  vague  thoughts  of 
possession.  But  the  old  ideal  was  tenacious  in  its  hold  on 
this  young  heart  with  its  exquisite  sensibilities,  and  its 
influence  was  strongly  exerted  toward  subjugating  what 
the  timid  and  morbidly  fearful  lover  felt  to  be  a  passion, 
which,  if  it  should  gain  full  possession  of  him,  would  drive 
him  to  despair;  for  while  she  had  heretofore  seemed  an 
angel  to  be  not  even  approached  with  words  of  earthly 
love,  she  now  had  to  his  mind  all  the  beauty  of  an  angel, 
with  the  addition  of  that  terrible  capacity  for  scorn  and 
contempt  which  sensitive  and  timid  young  lovers  so  much 
fear  in  the  beautiful  object  of  their  secret  adoration. 

Then,  again,  in  the  midst  of  this  internal  commotion 
appeared  the  dark  presence  of  his  father  in  a  storm  of 
fury,  arid  commanding  him  to  desist  from  desires  so  obnox 
ious  to  himself ;  and  thoughts  of  disobedience  to  this  im 
perious  autocrat  were  calculated  to  make  him  turn  pale  at 
the  very  idea. 

He  was,  in  short,  shaken  like  a  reed  in  the  wind,  and  his 
soul  tossed  about  as  a  plaything  by  the  contending  emo 
tions  with  which. he  was  agitated. 

Now  it  happened  that  while  suffering  the  most  unendur 
able  pangs  of  heart  and  soul  he  had  yet  experienced,  he 
received  the  commands  of  the  broker  to  attend  upon  him 


272  THE  VETERAN   OF   THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

at  liis  office  immediately.  This  message,  breaking  in  upon 
him  at  this  instant  with  such  peremptory  sternness,  filled 
him  with  dismay.  He  was  assured  that  his  father,  whom 
he  looked  upon  as  one  able  to  read  all  men  as  if  a  glass 
were  set  in  their  bosoms,  had  scrutinized  him  for  the  past 
few  days  as  if  he  were  searching  the  most  secret  depths  of 
his  heart ;  and  to  be  brought  before  his  stern  and  pene 
trating  eye,  with  his  breast  in  such  an  extraordinary  state 
of  commotion,  was  to  him  a  terrible  ordeal. 

Tremblingly,  therefore,  had  this  young  artist  entered 
into  his  dread  father's  presence,  to  be  confronted  by  that 
gaze  before  which  he  had  learned  to  shrink  when  it  would 
read  his  hidden  thoughts. 

The  strange  and  abrupt  manner  in  which  the  broker  had 
opened  the  interview  did  by  no  means  tend  to  allay  the 
fears  with  which  the  son  had  come  before  him.  This  idol 
izing  worshipper,  whose  love  had  inflicted  upon  him  such 
exquisite  torments,  felt  certain  that  his  father  had  dis 
covered  all,  and  in  order  to  head  off  this  love  was  about  to 
command  him  to  marry  some  young  woman  of  his  own 
selection  ;  and  the  dismay  with  which  he  had  received  the 
command  from  the  messenger  to  hasten  hither  was  in 
creased  tenfold,  and  began  speedily  to  display  itself  on  his 
countenance  in  that  look  of  consternation  which  we  have 
observed. 

His  emotion  then,  when  the  inexorable  father  pro 
nounced  the  name  of  his  cousin,  we  must  leave  to  the 
imagination  of  the  reader,  which  can  see  so  much  more 
than  our  pen  can  delineate. 

When  the  broker  said,  "  How  does  it  please  you,  boy  ?  " 
the  young  artist  could  scarcely  contain  himself ;  but  that 
natural  cunning  which  love  puts  on  to  protect  itself,  even 
in  the  most  innocent  bosom,  came  to  his  aid  in  time  to 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  273 

modify  somewhat,  at  least,  the  impulse  that  threatened 
to  overpower  him ;  though,  as  it  was,  the  display  of  his 
feelings  partook  of  vehemence.  Rising  to  his  feet,  he 
seized  one  of  his  father's  hands  in  both  of  his,  and  in  a 
voice  of  extreme  agitation,  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  My  dear  father,  I  do  not  think  I  have  ever  disobeyed 
you!" 

"  No,  my  son,"  said  the  broker  graciously,  "  you  have 
been  an  obedient  child." 

"  Then  great  as  is  this  command  which  you  are  pleased 
to  give  me,  I  will  not  even  now  venture  to  disobey 
you!" 

"  You  are  a  good  son,  —  a  good  son,"  responded  the  fa 
ther,  at  the  same  time  casting  an  admonitory  look  toward 
the  door  to  indicate  that  his  son  must  not  speak  so  loud. 

"  But,  father,"  stammered  William  in  a  lowered  but  not 
less  agitated  voice,  "  will  —  she  —  obey  ? " 

"  Who  ?  —  your  cousin  ? " 

"Yes  —  Emma." 

The  broker  gave  vent  to  a  self-complacent  laugh. 

"  Borrow  no  trouble  in  that  direction,  my  boy,"  he  said, 
purring  his  son's  upper  hand  with  his  own  disengaged 
palm.  "  Your  own  consent  obtained,  —  and  I  trust  you  will 
not  change  your  mind,  —  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  that 
direction." 

The  implied  deference  to  the  young  lover's  will  did  not 
fail  to  produce  its  effect. 

"  Father  !  "  exclaimed  the  youth,  warmly,  "your  will  is 
law  in  such  a  case  as  this,  and  it  will  be  impossible  for.  my 
mind  to  change  !  " 

"A  good  son,  a  very  good  son,"  again  said  the  father. 
"Your  cousin  is  very  beautiful,"  he  added,  while  the 
slightest  of  smiles  appeared,  which  an  attentive  observer 
12*  B 


274  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

would  have  pronounced  grim,  but  which  the  infatuated 
young  artist  took  to  be  a  smile  of  kindly  pleasure. 

"  Yes,"  answered  William  with  an  emotion  he  could  not 
conceal,  "  she  is  —  beautiful — very  beautiful ! "  Then  with 
a  look  of  deep  concern,  in  which  the  light  of  jealousy  ap 
peared,  he  said,  "  She  has  thought  much  of  another." 

"  You  mean  the  young  soldier,"  returned  Daniel  Garvin, 
with  an  expression  which,  while  it  startled  his  son,  the 
latter  could  not  interpret,  —  "  Phillip  Mar  —  " 

"  Prescott  Marland,"  interrupted  the  son,  correcting  the 
apparent  mistake  of  his  father,  whose  memory  was  not  so 
bad  as  its  owner  would  make  it  appear. 

"Ah,  yes  !  Prescott  Marland ! " 

"  He  thought  a  great  deal  of  Emma." 

"  And  Emma  of  him,  you  say,"  rejoined  the  broker,  with 
a  satirical  smile. 

"  I  fear  so,  father,"  uttered  the  young  artist ;  and  his 
brow  was  bent  into  a  scowl  which  for  the  first  time  indi 
cated  that,  while  he  was  a  transcript  of  his  mother  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  the  term,  there  was  hidden  away  in 
his  composition  an  infusion  of  his  father's  blood. 

"  You  need  fear  him  not ! "  said  the  broker,  harshly. 
"  This  young  man  was  an  impostor  ' " 

"  They  think  him  dead." 

"Very  likely  he  is,"  returned  Daniel  Garvin,  with  a 
twitch  of  his  brows.  "  Now  go,  and  say  nothing.  I  will 
arrange  for  the  bridal.  So  prepare  yourself." 

William  obeyed  his  father's  command,  and  departed 
without  another  word. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        275 


CHAPTEE    XXXV. 

IT  is  necessary  that  we  explain  the  strange  move  which 
we  have  just  seen  the  broker  initiate. 

"With  the  incarceration  of  Prescott  Marland  in  the  mad 
house,  followed  by  the  startling  yet  fiercely  welcome  news 
of  the  Veteran's  assassination,  Daniel  Garvin,  as  we  have 
seen,  proceeded  to  bend  his  thoughts  as  best  he  could  to 
the  consideration  of  the  future. 

The  blow  which  his  schemes  had  received  from  the  hand 
of  the  Veteran  had  unsettled  his  inordinate  egotism,  and 
shaken  him  in  his  own  estimation.  He  attempted  with  a 
sort  of  desperation  to  shut  out  such  convictions  as  would 
naturally  follow  so  severe  a  jar,  but  they  came  in  forms  too 
potent  for  his  resistance.  But  now  as  he  sat  day  after  day 
in  his  private  office,  a  conscious  murderer,  having  been 
compelled  by  the  power  of  another  to  resort  to  foul  assas 
sination  as  the  only  means  left  for  that  intellect  of  his 
which  he  had  heretofore  considered  so  all-powerful,  he 
felt  himself  tossed  on  the  waves  of  circumstance,  and  his 
thoughts  were  troubled  by  a  distraction  which  was  an 
unusual  experience  of  his  astute  brain. 

In  the  midst  of  these  confused  deliberations  one  thought 
leaped  into  his  mind,  and  for  the  time  being  took  entire 
possession  of  it.  It  was  no  more  nor  less  than  the  mar 
riage  of  Emma  Paige  to  his  son  William.  Here  was  a 
waist  anchor  to  be  thrown  out  in  case  of  storms,  which  he 
now  could  but  feel  were  likely  to  burst  upon  him  at  any 
moment,  —  for  he  had  come  to  look  with  ill-suppressed 
fear  on  the  existence  of  that  organization  from  which  had 


276  -THE   VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

issued  the  two  champions  who  had  given  him  so  hard  a 
combat,  and  which,  for  aught  he  knew,  might  furnish  a 
hundred  more  to  do  battle  in  the  same  cause. 

Like  a  monarch  who  seeks  to.  intermarry  a  member  of 
his  family  into  the  royal  family  of  another  kingdom,  that 
he  may  there  have  power,  so  did  this  scheming  broker  con 
ceive  that  if  his  son  were  married  into  the  family  of  his 
deceased  half-brother,  he  would  be  provided  with  a  base  on 
which  he  could  fall  back  if  occasion  demanded. 

His  hate  for  this  family  did  not  interfere  with  the 
plan,  for  his  son  was  scarcely  more  to  him  than  the  son 
of  an  utter  stranger.  If  the  boy  had  taken  after  him,  and 
as  he  grew  up  manifested  an  interest  in  his  own  hard 
money-getting  business,  he  might,  perchance,  have  enter 
tained  toward  him  a  degree  of  paternal  feeling.  But  he 
did  not  take  after  him ;  on  the  contrary,  he  had  inherited 
his  character  from  his  mother,  whom  Daniel  Garvin  re 
membered  as  a  weak,  sickly,  and,  to  him,  complaining 
woman,  who  cost  him  a  heavy  doctor's  bill ;  and,  more 
over,  he  stupidly  took  to  making  pictures  like  a  girl, 
and  whined  sentiment  like  an  idiot,  instead,  of  making 
calculations  and  counting  money  like  a  man.  Occasion 
ally  he  had  discovered  lurking  in  his  disposition  a  faint 
shadow,  as  it  were,  of  his  own,  but  so  vague  that  only 
under  extraordinary  circumstances,  when  it  would  assume 
a  more  distinct  form,  could  he  perceive  any  semblance  to 
himself. 

There  was,  therefore,  nothing  in  this  direction  to  prevent 
him  from  using  the  young  lover  as  a  tool,  for  that  he  was  a 
most  enraptured  lover,  and  that  his  cousin  was  the  object 
of  his  love,  he  had  long  and  silently  been  aware.  A  tool 
would  this  young  artist  be,  to  follow  the  beck  of  his  hand 
as  undeviatingly  as  the  chisel  follows  the  hand  of  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       277 

master  mechanic,  —  not  ready  by  calculation  to  do  a  base 
deed,  but  subservient  to  a  will  that  would  move  him  as 
by  the  hand  of  fate. 

Eegarding  Emma,  he  understood  her  spirit  of  devotion 
to  her  mother  and  sisters,  —  he  knew  well  their  present 
condition,  their  poverty  and  privation ;  and  he  calculated 
on  drawing  those  strings  of  a  devoted  daughter's  heart, 
which  every  reader  has  undoubtedly  seen  worked  by  some 
wealthy  villain  in  story  or  drama,  from  whom  we  might 
suspect  he  had  taken  his  own  cue,  if  it  were  possible  to 
imagine  him  either  reading  a  story  or  beholding  a  drama, 
which  not  being  able  thus  to  imagine,  we  must  ascribe  it 
to  his  own  deep  study  of  men  and  things  around  him. 

On  this  morning,  while  in  the  midst  of  confused  medita 
tions,  he  came  suddenly  to  a  decision  which  resulted  in  the 
interview  we  have  described. 

When  William  Garvin  was  released  from  the  presence  of 
his  father,  he  flew  as  on  wings  through  the  streets  toward 
his  studio.  His  feet  seemed  scarcely  to  touch  the  pave 
ments,  and  all  about  him  as  he  sped  along  had  the  appear 
ance  of  a  dream.  Everything  seemed  beneath  him  and 
his  head  had  nearly  touched  the  clouds. 

Arrived  at  the  studio  he  locked  the  door  and  threw  him 
self  on  the  lounge,  and  clasped  his  throbbing  forehead  with 
his  hand. 

As  the  light  streamed  down  from  the  upper  portion  of 
one  window,  which  only  remained  uncurtained,  it  fell 
directly  upon  this  fevered  youth,  and  revealed  him  a 
figure  suitable  for  a  representation  of  the  fabled  lover 
whom  the  pangs  of  love  drove  mad. 

As  one  gazes  about  this  studio  he  is  not  impressed  with 
the  presence  of  a  thorough  and  proficient  genius,  but  per 
ceives,  instead,  those  crude,  vague,  ambitious  efforts  of  a 


278        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY, 

young  man,  who,  with  an  all-absorbing  yet  baseless  enthu 
siasm,  is  essentially  lacking  in  the  important  requisites  of 
a  successful  artist ;  here  and  there,  it  is  true,  displaying  an 
exceptionally  striking  effect,  or  tolerably  drawn  figure, 
which,  however,  are  rather  the  result  of  accident  than  per 
formances  that  are  sure  to  be  repeated.  A  certain  grace, 
innate  in  himself,  pervades  much  that  he  has  done,  but  it 
is  the  grace  with  which  the  child,  if  his  motions  be  grace 
ful,  will  draw  his  untutored  pencil  over  the  paper  before  he 
can  read  the  print  which  he  may,  perchance,  be  defacing. 

In  short,  the  works  we  behold  are  a  complete  expression 
of  the  character  which  has  conceived  them,  —  one  of  those 
natures  of  extreme  sensibility,  with  emotional  tempera 
ment,  and  aspirations  which  never  permit  him  to  touch 
the  solid  earth;  but  leaping  as  he  supposes  the  winged 
steed  that  is  to  bear  him  to  the  region  where  art  only  ex 
ists,  he  awakes  after  a  comparatively  fruitless  life  to  find 
that  he  has  been  astride  a  wooden  horse,  the  rocking  of 
which  has  to  his  dazed  imagination  seemed  the  progress 
of  flying. 

Perhaps  no  difference  exists  in  the  world  more  marked 
than  that  which  lies  between  the  man  of  true  artistic 
genius  and  him  who,  with  a  highly  sensitive  and  morbid 
disposition,  talks  of  art,  and  dreams  a  comparatively 
inactive  life  away  in  the  midst  of  shifting  clouds.  The 
former  is  possessed  of  the  most  concentrated  energies,  and 
will,  like  Michael  Angelo,  hew  a  law-giving  Moses,  paint  a 
Sistine  ceiling,  defy  a  Pope  of  Eome,  or  defend  the  fortifi 
cations  of  a  native  Florence ;  the  latter  has  no  self-made 
type  in  history,  for  he  makes  no  history,  passing  through 
the  world  like  a  fleeting  shadow,  except  that  his  emotional 
nature,  with  its  morbid  sensibility  and  impressibility,  is 
ever  a  source  of  exquisite  torment  and  unrest. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  279 

In  the  young  man  who  has  now  thrown  himself  upon 
the  lounge  we  see  an  example  of  the  latter  type.  Artist 
we  call  him,  for  as  such  he  has  written  his  name  on  his 
cards  and  tacked  it  on  his  door ;  and  so  entrancing  are  his 
daily  dreams  in  connection  wTith  art  that  we  have  not  the 
heart  to  deny  him  a  title  in  which  he  takes  such  infinite 
pride. 

The  subdued  light  and  solitary  silence  of  the  studio  by 
no  means  tended  to  diminish  the  burning  fever  which 
now  seemed  to  threaten  him  with  utter  prostration.  His 
body  surged  with  the  surging  blood,  and  presently  both 
hands  were  pressed  hard  upon  his  temples  as  if  his  senses 
were  threatening  to  leave  by  these  avenues. 

At  length  he  rose,  and  approached  an  easel  on  which 
was  a  painting  covered  with  crimson  cloth.  He  nervously 
snatched  this  covering  from  the  picture,  and  stood  gazing 
upon  it  with  unutterable  rapture.  It  was  a  portrait  of  his 
lovely  cousin.  Having  drawn  in  the  outlines  from  a 
photograph  which  Emma  had  given  him  with  her  own 
hand  several  months  before,  he  had  occupied  himself  day 
after  day  during  those  hours  when  he  could  lock  his  door 
against  all  intruding  visitors,  in  giving  vent  with  his  pen 
cil  to  the  ecstasies  which  so  completely  mastered  him. 

Indifferent  though  it  was  as  a  work  of  art,  it  was  yet 
characterized  by  an  expression  which  only  such  sentiments 
and  emotions  as  had  directed  this  entranced  lover's  hand 
could  have  conveyed  to  the  canvas. 

He  stood  before  it  a  moment  as  if  spell-bound,  and  then 
dropping  into  a  chair  he  shaded  his  eyes  for  an  instant 
with  his  hand,  while  a  look  of  the  most  incredulous  joy 
overspread  his  delicate  countenance. 

Then  again  rising  to  his  feet  he  quickly  advanced  to  the 
painting  and  pressed  his  lips  to  it.  Instantly  on  perform- 


280       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

ing  this  act  his  entire  face  and  neck  were  suffused  with  a 
deep  blush,  and  a  tremor  took  possession  of  his  slight 
frame. 

"  0  heavens  !  "  he  exclaimed  in  an  uncontrollable  trans 
port,  "  can  it  be  possible  that  my  father  has  thus  ordained 
my  happiness  !  "  And  now  giving  rein  to  his  emotions,  as 
if  madness  had  actually  seized  him,  he  covered  the  fore 
head,  eyes,  cheeks,  lips,  with  kisses  of  rapture. 

Just  before  this  culmination  of  his  ungovernable  emo 
tions  two  knocks  had  been  given  outside,  the  second  after 
a  moment's  interval  of  waiting; "but  the  infatuated  young 
artist  had  not  heard  them.  His  senses  seemed  closed  to 
all  things  except  this  picture  of  his  idol.  But  now  the 
door,  which  in  his  excitement  he  had  left  unlocked,  was 
opened  and  closed  with  a  hand  so  firm  that  but  little  noise 
was  made,  and  then  a  stately  form  appeared  beyond  the 
screen  and  there  stopped,  as  if  he,  whose  presence  was  so 
unbeknown  to  the  owner  of  the  studio,  were  transfixed 
with  amazement. 

The  portrait  was  partly  turned  toward  him,  while  the 
face  of  the  young  artist  was  to  the  same  degree  turned 
away.  He  had  entered  upon  the  scene  just  as  the  broker's 
son  was  in  the  midst  of  his  final  rhapsodies. 

Mingled  with  the  wild  display  of  his  intoxicating  love 
were  the  most  impetuous  and  incoherent  utterances. 

"  My  father  commanded  this  ?  —  Dearest  cousin  !  are 
you  indeed  mine  ?  —  Yes,  you  shall  be  happy,  for  my  father 
says  it!  —  You  will  be  his  daughter,  and  you  shall  no 
longer  suffer  !  —  No  !  No  !  I  will  make  you  happy  with 
my  kisses  !  Thus  !  —  and  thus  !  —  and  thus  ! "  Then  with 
a  sudden  vehemence  he  kissed  the  lips  again  and  again, 
and  exclaimed,  with  a  voice  in  which  the  tones  of  his 
father's  voice  were  perceptible,  "  Prescott  Marland  was  a 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  281 

traitor !  a  despicable  traitor !  and  not  worthy  so  much  as 
the  faintest  smile  of  these  lips  ! " 

This  vehement  denunciation  of  the  bold  and  generous 
Lieutenant  seemed  to  startle  him  into  a  realization  of  the 
outer  world,  and  he  cast  his  eye  about  him  with  a  fright 
ened  glance  of  apprehension. 

In  the  next  instant  he  had  staggered  back  against  the 
wall,  with  his  hands  outstretched  for  support,  while  his 
effeminate  features,  recently  so  deeply  suffused  with  his  hot 
blood,  turned  to  a  livid  white,  as  he  gazed  appalled  on  that 
silent  visitor. 

It  was  the  Veteran,  pale  and  worn  with  recent  suffering, 
which  served  to  enhance  the  expression  of  commanding 
sternness  and  severity  with  which  he  now  contemplated 
the  awe-stricken  youth  before  him. 


CHAPTER    XXXVI. 

AN  hour  subsequent  to  the  incidents  narrated  in  the 
last  chapter  the  Veteran  came  forth  from  the  studio 
of  William  Garvin,  with  a  countenance  in  which  an  inef 
fable  expression  of  pity  was  mingled  with  a  look  of  inex 
orable  resolution. 

We  will  explain  to  the  reader  first,  this  apparent  resur 
rection  from  the  dead,  and  then  the  cause  of  this  strange 
visit  to  the  studio. 

The  wound  inflicted  by  the  bullet  from  Dick  Smasher's 
pistol  was  severe,  but  not  mortal.  The  ball  struck  the 
skull  obliquely,  and  glanced  off,  tearing  the  scalp  badly,  and 
rendering  the  intended  victim  of  the  shot  insensible.  He 
awoke  to  consciousness  at  the  station-house,  not  long  after 


282  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY 

he  had  been  conveyed  thither,  and  on  being  informed  by 
Officer  McNeal,  who  was  by  when  he  revived,  of  all  that 
had  happened,  including  the  appearance  of  the  reporter  on 
the  scene,  his  unresting  brain,  alive  to  the  situation  even 
after  this  terrible  shock,  at  once  apprehended  who  was  the 
instigator  of  the  attempted  assassination,  and  he  took 
action  accordingly.  To  his  great  satisfaction  he  found 
McNeal  to  be  not  only  a  soldier,  as  stated  in  the  report 
of  the  attempted  murder,  but  a  comrade,  and  ready  to 
assist  him  in  the  design  he  had  in  view,  which  was  to 
let  the  report  of  his  death  remain  uncontradicted  in  the 
papers,  until  he  was  ready  to  show  himself  in  person, 
and  the  more  effectually  confound  the  schemer  whose 
plans  and  actions  would  now  be  based  on  the  supposition 
of  his  death. 

McNeal  not  only  securely  provided  against  discovery  by 
any  who  might  come  to  the  station-house,  but  he  took  the 
Veteran  to  his  own  home  that  night,  and  there  kept  him. 
until  he  was  convalescent. 

The  object  of  his  strange  visit  to  William  Garvin's  studio, 
which  was  the  first  made  after  his  confinement,  was  noth 
ing  less  than  the  employment  of  the  young  artist  as  an 
agent  against  the  designs  of  his  own  father. 

To  a  man  of  the  Veteran's  high  principles  of  action  it 
cost  much  profound  consideration  before  he  could  decide  to 
make  this  move,  a  circumstance  the  more  marked  as  his 
decisions  were  usually  made  with  clearness  and  rapidity 
after  acquiring  a  careful  knowledge  of  his  ground.  The 
reader  will  recall  the  earnest  expression  of  a  hope,  made  to 
Prescott  Marland  as  recorded  in  a  former  chapter,  that  he 
might  never  find  it  necessary  to  set  this  young  man  at 
work  against  his  own  father,  together  with  that  utterance 
of  prophetic  fears  in  his  concluding  words :  "  Though 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       283 

Heaven  only  knows,  in  such  an  affair  as  this,  what  instru 
mentalities  will  have  to  be  used  before  we  get  through  with 
it."  But  the  necessity  for  immediate  action  was  now  im 
perative,  and  no  other  instrument  was  to  him  available  for 
the  accomplishment  of  that  which  was  now  all-important  to 
his  plans :  namely,  the  recovery  of  Jonas  Gringar's  forgery. 

When  he  entered  the  studio,  as  we  have  described,  he 
was  first  amazed  to  behold  a  youth,  who  had  always  im 
pressed  him  as  singularly  shy  and  timid,  thus  kissing  a 
portrait  in  the  frenzied  madness  of  love;  but  the  next 
moment,  when  he  had  recognized  a  resemblance  to  Emma 
Paige,  and  heard  his  wild  utterances,  closing  with  the 
vehement  denunciation  of  Prescott  Marland,  his  amaze 
ment  was  changed  into  a  feeling  of  the  sternest  severity, 
for  he  saw  in  those  utterances  the  motive  spirit  of  the 
unprincipled  and  scheming  father. 

Nothing  could  have  more  effectually  subserved  his  pur 
pose  than  this  remarkable  manner  of  his  introduction. 
Those  sensations  with  which  William  Garvin  had  read  of 
the  Veteran's  assassination,  the  morning  succeeding  the 
murderous  attempt  upon  him,  were  not  stronger  than  were 
the  counter-sensations,  so  to  speak,  which  he  experienced 
when,  in  the  midst  of  his  frantic  demonstrations  of  love 
and  wild  and  vehement  utterances,  he  turned  and  found 
himself  as  by  supernatural  agencies  in  the  presence  of  him 
whom  he  had  thought  dead. 

We  have  told  the  reader  how  the  ideal  image  into  which 
he  had  formed  the  Veteran,  making  him  as  one  of  the 
gods,  was  shattered  by  the  announcement  of  his  murder  in 
an  obscure  yard  by  common  ruffians.  But  how  can  we 
describe  the  emotions  with  which  he  now  beheld  that 
formerly  idealized  being  standing  thus  unsummoned  and 
unheralded  in  his  studio,  his  lofty  form  almost  lost  in  the 


284       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

dim  shades  there  pervading,  while  the  pale  and  slightly 
attenuated  face  which  received  the  descending  and  con 
centrated  rays  from  the  upper  portion  of  the  curtained  win 
dow  was  bent  upon  him,  with  its  strong  lights  and  deep 
shadows,  in  the  full  power  of  its  impressive  grandeur  ?  As 
he  staggered  against  the  wall  appalled  by  this  sombre 
vision,  which  at  that  moment  was  as  terrible  to  his  con 
science  as  it  was  sombre  to  his  sight,  his  mind  seemed 
swept  up  as  by  a  whirlwind,  and  then  sent  dizzy  and  help 
less  into  the  grasp  of  him  who  now  appeared  vested  with 
attributes  far  transcending  those  which  his  idealizing 
fancies  had  conjured  up  for  him  before  the  news  of  the 
assassination. 

His  heart  was  seized  with  a  deadly  sickness,  for  a  voice 
seemed  to  thunder  to  his  soul  that  the  presence  of  this 
apparent  vanquisher  of  death  itself  was  the  signal  for  the 
annihilation  of  those  fevered  hopes  which,  alas !  had  been 
so  fiercely  kindled  to  be  extinguished  in  one  short-  hour  ! 

But  even  with  all  this  endured,  it  were  a  question 
whether  if  that  which  was  to  come  had  been  hurled  in 
upon  him  unaccompanied  by  the  sustaining  will  of  his 
visitor,  his  distracted  mind  would  not  have  yielded  to  the 
blow.  As  it  was,  the  shock,  when  the  full  purpose  of  the 
Veteran's  visit  was  in  the  course  of  that  next  hour  revealed 
to  him,  had  wellnigh  left  him  utterly  undone. 

Subject  though  he  was  to  the  will  of  the  Veteran,  almost 
as  the  volition  of  the  mesmeric  subject  has  been  affirmed 
to  be  under  the  absolute  control  of  the  mesmerizer,  yet  for 
a  brief  space  there  ensued  a  struggle  which  threatened  to 
burst  the  bonds  of  that  powerful  influence,  and  render  vain 
the  purposes  of  this  extraordinary  visit.  But  the  Veteran 
relied  not  alone  on  the  power  of  his  great  will;  he  de 
pended  chiefly  on  the  justice  of  his  cause,  his  will  acting  as 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       285 

\ 

a  necessary  instrument  by  which  to  press  home  this  justice 
so  that  the  mind  of  William  Garvin,  while  it  might  be  sub 
jugated  by  forces  not  to  be  resisted,  would  in  this  condition 
be  made  to  realize  the  righteousness  of  the  task  allotted 
him  in  the  role  of  the  remarkable  drama  that  was  being 
enacted.  Profoundly  versed  in  the  mysteries  of  the  human 
heart,  this  man,  with  a  comprehensiveness  of  mind  equal  to 
the  strength  of  his  will,  proceeded  to  bring  to  the  aid  of 
his  object'  that  all-devouring  love  which  the  broker's  son 
experienced  for  his  cousin,  in  combination  with  those 
qualities  he  inherited  from  his  mother. 

Without  revealing  all  the  heinousness  of  the  father's 
crime,  he  had  made  known  sufficient  to  serve  his  pur 
poses.  At  first,  though  told  by  one  whom  he  looked  upon 
as  reflecting  the  virtues  of  Heaven  itself,  the  spirit  of  the 
astounded  son  rose  against  the  arraignment  of  that  father 
who  had  but  just  now  ordained  so  infinite  a  happiness  for 
him ;  but  his  visitor  soon  compelled  this  spirit  to  yield  to 
the  truth,  though  the  realization  of  it  nearly  drove  him  to 
despair. 

But  we  will  not  occupy  time  and  space  in  recounting  the 
details  of  an  interview  the  like  of  which,  fortunately,  the 
events  of  life  do  not  compel  often  to  be  enacted.  Suffice  it 
to  say,  that  when  the  Veteran  went  forth  from  the  studio, 
with  his  inexorable  resolution  softened  by  the  heart's  unut 
terable  pity,  he  left  a  soul,  which  he  had  found  so  full  of 
wild  ecstasy  and  joy,  now  crushed  under  what  to  the  hap 
less  youth  seemed  the  iron  hand  of  a  relentless  fate. 

Night  gradually  advanced,  and  the  studio  grew  dark 
while  the  light  that  descended  through  the  curtained  win 
now  came  only  from  the  stars ;  but  still  that  slight  form 
remained  silent  and  motionless,  as  if  it  were  wrought  from 
the  inanimate  clay  in  which  he  himself  had  formerly  en 
deavored  to  embody  his  impracticable  dreams. 


286       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

WE  will  return  to  Prescott  Marland,  whom  we  left 
thrust  into  the  cell  of  a  mad-house,  with  the  thongs 
which  bound  him  severed  and  the  door  locked  against  him, 
while  his  ears  were  greeted  by  the  gibbering  of  a  maniac. 

With  the  use  of  his  limbs  he  instantly  rose  to  his  feet, 
and  the  gibbering  ceased.  He  looked  about  him  and  found 
himself  in  a  square  cell,  with  walls  of  stone  and  a  small, 
heavily  grated  window,  which  was  dimly  denned  against 
the  slightly  illuminated  atmosphere  of  night  without.  But 
what  especially  attracted  his  attention  was  the  appearance 
of  two  lights,  which  he  knew  to  be  the  eyes  of  a  human 
being,  glaring  upon  him  from  the  darkness  of  one  of  the 
rear  corners  of  the  cell. 

Suddenly  this  corner  was  lit  up  by  dim,  greenish  rays 
from  above,  and  Prescott  beheld  a  maniac  chained  to  the 
wall,  his  face  long  and  haggard,  with  the  beard  and  hair 
standing  out  like  quills  of  the  porcupine,  sitting  on  a 
square  stone  fixed  to  the  floor,  while  with  his  elbows  on 
his  knees  he  gnawed  the  finger-nails  of'  either  hand,  and 
silently  glared  upon  his  new  companion. 

Prescott  comprehended  the  situation  in  an  instant.  The 
cell,  the  maniac,  and  the  light,  which  he  perceived  to  issue 
from  an  aperture  in  which  was  set  a  bull's-eye  of  greenish 
hue,  were  all  intended  to  carry  out  a  diabolical  object, 
such  as  he  had  read  of  in  published  accounts  of  places  of 
this  kind.  He  knew  that  abject  submission,  lunacy,  or 
death,  one  of  these  three,  was  now  the  only  end  to  be  ex 
pected  unless  he  could  escape  a  prison  so  horrible. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       287 

Presently  the  maniac  began  again  to  mumble  as  he 
gnawed  his  nails,  while  his  eyes  remained  fixed  with  their 
wild  glare  on  the  young  Lieutenant. 

Prescott,  who  had  studied  somewhat  into  the  laws  that 
govern  the  eccentric  courses  of  insanity,  began  with  a  stout 
heart  to  consider  how  he  should  conduct  himself  toward 
his  crazy  fellow-prisoner.  It  occurred  to  him  that,  even 
with  this  raving  maniac,  he  might  so  exert  a  strong  will 
directed  by  an  alert  mind  as  to  make  himself,  to  a  degree 
at  least,  master  of  the  situation,  and  by  this  means  enjoy 
perhaps  some  immunity  from  the  terrible  fate  which  it 
seemed  probable  had  been  prepared  for  him. 

While  this  indomitable  young  soldier  was  busy  with  his 
thoughts  the  maniac  continued  to  stare  upon  him,  his 
mutterings  increasing  with  a  sort  of  guttural  violence  pre 
paratory  to  an  outburst. 

Suddenly  he  leaped  to  his  feet,  and,  brandishing  his 
clenched  hands  before  him,  his  countenance  assumed  a  look 
of  defiant  rage. 

"  Yile  shadow-legs  ! "  he  yelled  in  a  screeching  voice,  "  I 
saw  it  with  these  eyes  !  You  shot  him  to  get  your  fur 
lough  of  sixty  days  !  — He  writhed  !  he  writhed !  he  writhed ! 
0,  how  he  writhed ! "  screamed  the  madman,  gnashing  his 
teeth  and  raising  his  hands  in  the  air.  Then  advancing  on 
Prescott  he  exclaimed,  "  You  lie,  you  Rebel  dog !  You  shot 
him  for  a  furlough !  He  fell  on  your  accursed  dead  line, 
when  he  dropped  his  crutch,  and  you  shot  him,  and  he 
writhed  and  kicked  his  one  leg,  and  you  mocked  him  and 
grinned  at  him !  He  was  my  brother,  you  infernal  mon 
ster  !  and  I  '11  tear  your  heart  —  no,  no  !  I  '11  splinter  it, 
for  't  is  made  for  the  hammer ! "  And,  rushing  to  the 
length  of  his  chain,  he  beat  the  air  with  furious  blows  of 
his  fist,  while  Prescott  stood  just  out  of  reach  calmly  meet 
ing  the  frenzied  eye  before  him  with  a  steady  gaze. 


288        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  young  Lieutenant  at  once  apprehended  that  he  was 
in  the  presence  of  a  Union  soldier,  who  had  been  driven 
mad  by  terrible  suffering  while  in  the  hands  of  the  Rebels 
as  a  prisoner,  and  whose  raving  recalled  to  his  mind,  with  an 
inward  horror  that  even  surpassed  the  feeling  aroused  by 
his  own  present  terrible  situation,  the  atrocious  order  from 
Rebel  head-quarters  that  "  Any  sentinel  killing  a  Federal 
soldier,  approaching  the  dead  line,  shall  receive  a  furlough 
of  sixty  days ;  while  for  wounding  one,  he  shall  receive  a 
furlough  for  thirty  days." 

All  at  once  the  maniac  ceased  smiting  the  air,  and  falling 
back  a  pace,  stared  at  the  object  of  his  insane  fury,  and 
exclaimed,  — 

"  Thou  art  no  Rebel,  to  brave  me  with  such  a  front  as 
that!" 

Prescott,  whose  eye  still  remained  steadily  fixed,  now 
cried  in  a  sharp  military  voice  of  command,  — 

"  About  —  face ! " 

The  mad  soldier  instantly  brought  his  feet  into  position, 
and  obeyed  the  order,  the  chains  clanking  with  his  movement. 

"  Forward  —  march  ! " 

The  left  foot  struck  out  with  a  prompt  step,  and  a  direct 
line  of  march  was  taken  to  the  stone  seat. 

"  Halt !  —  about  —  face  ! " 

These  orders  were  obeyed  with  the  same  alacrity,  and 
the  maniac  stood  with  his  left  hand  hanging  by  his  side, 
and  his  right  slightly  raised,  with  the  fingers  bent  as  if  he 
held  a  gun  at  shoulder  arms. 

Prescott  now  felt  in  his  pockets  for  paper  and  pencil ; 
but  he  found  them  empty,  which  recalled  the  action  of 
hands  about  these  pockets  during  the  struggle  in  the  hall. 
Without  showing  his  momentary  discomposure,  he  made  a 
movement  as  if  about  to  write  on  a  tablet,  and  said,  in  the 
same  voice  of  command,  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  289 

"  Your  full  name  and  rank  ? " 

"  Charles  Albertson  Lenning,  Third  Corporal ! " 

"  You  are  commended  for  your  promptness  and  soldierly 
appearance,  Corporal  Lenning.  Left  face !  —  Arms  —  port ! 
—  Break  ranks  !  —  March  ! " 

The  mad  soldier,  whose  wild  and  shrunken  visage  lit 
up  with  a  gleam  of  pleasure  at  the  compliment  of  his 
improvised  commander,  having  "broken  ranks,"  sat  down 
on  the  stone,  tore  a  shred  from  his  tattered  clothing,  and 
picking  up  his  chain  commenced  rubbing  it  as  if  it  were 
a  part  of  his  accoutrements,  which  the  compliment  he 
had  received  had  spurred  him  on  to  polish  with  unusual 
care. 

Prescott  now  retired  to  another  stone  seat  on  the  op 
posite  side  of  the  cell,  and  sitting  down  contemplated  this 
miserable  victim  of  Eebel  cruelty  with  thoughts  so  absorb 
ing  that  he  forgot  for  a  while  that  he  himself  was  reserved 
for  a  fate  perhaps  equally  as  cruel.  The  maniac  recalled 
to  mind  the  reports  that  continually  came  into  camp  dur 
ing  the  war  of  the  horrible  sufferings  of  Union  prisoners ; 
and  he  again  experienced  that  feeling  of  bitter  hatred  of 
the  savage  and  barbarous  spirit  displayed  by  the  South 
ern  leaders  which  myriads  of  his  comrades  felt  who  ner 
vously  grasped  their  weapons  and  strained  their  eyes  in 
the  direction  of  the  scene  of  those  Eebel  atrocities. 

This  present  bitterness  was  not  diminished  by  the 
thought  of  the  odious  sentiments  which  had  already  found 
expression  in  the  land  by  some  who  enjoyed  the  reputa 
tion  of  loyalty  during  the  war,  —  by  men  who  did  not  know 
the  difference  between  magnanimity  and  the  most  abject 
toadyism,  —  men  who  with  indecent  haste  were  rushing  to 
necks  that  an  enlightened  mercy  had  spared  from  the  noose, 
and  clasping  them  with  eager  arms,  were  crying  with 

13  S 


290       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

heart-sickening  fervor :  "  Dear  friends  !  we  rejoice  to  see 
you  once  more  in  our  fold !  Utter  not  even  a  word  of 
apology,  but  allow  us  to  hang  like  penitents  on  these  noble 
bosoms  and  we  shall  be  happy !  You  displayed  as  much 
heroism,  as  much  devotion  to  a  principle,  as  we  of  the 
North,  and  your  motives  were  as  high  and  noble  !  Forgive 
you  ?  We  shall  be  but  too  happy  if  you  forgive  us  ! " 

We  say  that  the  thought  of  the  prevalence  of  sentiments 
such  as  these  did  not  serve  to  allay  the  bilterness  of  the 
young  Lieutenant's  heart  as  he  contemplated  the  human 
wreck  before  him.  Here  was  a  being  driven  mad  through 
the  terrible  sufferings  inflicted  by  the  very  objects  of  this 
disgraceful  flunkyism,  —  a  being  doomed  day  after  day  to 
reproduce  in  his  ravings  the  impression  of  the  awful  scenes 
in  which  he  had  been  both  actor  and  witness. 

This  young  soldier  represented  the  true  magnanimity  of 
the  war,  inasmuch  as  he  represented  the  spirit'of  the  North 
ern  armies,  —  a  magnanimity  which  can  only  belong  to  that 
high  courage,  that  lofty  devotion  to  principle,  which  causes 
him  who  possesses  it  to  hazard  his  own  life  to  preserve 
that  of  his  country.  The  solemnity  of  the  conflict  is  felt 
by  him  as  by  no  other.  Puerilities  and  mawkish  senti 
ment  are  sloughed  off.  He  comes  to  see  things  in  the 
true  reality  of  their  bearing.  He  apprehends,  with  the 
profoundest  philosopher,  that,  while  thousands  of  men, 
through  ignorance  of  those  principles  by  which  humanity 
alone  can  live,  may  have  been  deluded  into  a  monstrous 
Eebellion,  and  their  crime  palliated  accordingly ;  yet  no 
intelligent  leaders  could  have  been  guilty  of  the  brutalities 
practised  upon  Union  prisoners,  and  at  the  same  time  have 
believed  themselves  in  the  right.  He  realizes  that  such 
atrocities  are  the  revelation  of  their  consciousness  of  guilt, 
writing,  as  it  were,  in  characters  that  flame  with  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.'       291 

fires  of  Hell,  "  We  fight  against  God  and  the  powers  of 
Heaven  !  " 

Our  young  hero  represents  the  spirit  which  found  such 
noble  expression  in  the  great  commander  of  our  armies, 
now  the  chief  magistrate  of  that  Union  he  did  so  much 
to  preserve  among  the  nations.  General  Grant  fought  the 
Eebellion  with  iron  hand;  but  he  stood  ready  to  receive 
the  truly  repentant,  as  the  father  received  the  prodigal 
son.  He  did  not  demand  that  they  should  grovel  before 
him  as  captives  before  a  conqueror.  All  he  required  was 
that  they  practically  acknowledge  their  error  by  submit 
ting  to  the  arbitrament  of  the  sword,  and  henceforth  con 
duct  themselves  like  good  citizens.  While  on  the  one 
hand  he  suppresses  with  unflinching  resolution  the  out 
breaks  of  a  rampant  rebellious  spirit,  on  the  other  he  nom 
inates  to  an  important  office  one  who,  though  prominent 
and  active  in  the  war,  is  equally  so  in  efforts  that  prove 
his  enlightened  repentance. 

A  desire  for  sleep  finally  terminated  Prescott's  thoughts 
in  this  direction.  The  maniac,  now  mumbling  to  himself, 
still  continued  polishing  the  links  of  his  chain  which  in 
his  insane  fancy  he  had  metamorphosed  into  his  accoutre 
ments,  and  the  young  Lieutenant  began  to  cogitate  some 
plan  by  which  he  could  secure  himself  against  an  immedi 
ate  interruption  by  his  crazy  cell-mate. 

Presently  an  idea  struck  him.  He  possessed  admirable 
powers  of  imitation ;  so  putting  his  hand  to  his  mouth  he 
sounded  the  tattoo  like  a  bugle  a  short  distance  off. 

The  instant  it  struck  the  ears  of  the  maniac  he  stopped 
his  rubbing,  and  with  the  remark,  "Old  Hiram  's  prompt 
to-night ! "  he  carefully  put  aside  both  rag  and  chain,  and, 
extending  himself  on  the  stone  floor,  was  soon  fast  asleep. 

Prescott,  who  could  not  help  smiling  with  amusement  at 


292  THE  VJfiTEKAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

the  success  of  his  stratagem,  though  in  the  midst  of  cir 
cumstances  so  gloomy  and  depressing,  now  laid  himself 
down  for  slumber,  which  after  a  while  bore  him  away  as 
he  was  in  the  midst  of  thoughts  of  her  who  was  to  surfer 
such  anguish  from  his  sudden  and  mysterious  absence. 

He  slept  with  tolerable  soundness  for  several  hours,  when 
he  was  awakened  by  the  howling  of  the  maniac,  who  was 
raving  again  on  his  prison  life  with  the  Eebels. 

"  0  God  ! "  he  screamed,  "  don't  shoot  him  !  He  's  my 
brother,  I  tell  you  !  Don't  you  see  he  's  .got  but-  one 
leg  ?  He  's  a  cripple,  you  hireling  of  the  Devil !  He  's 
starving  and  weak,  and  fell  against  it !  0  God  o'  mercy  ! 
he  's  fired ! "  Here  the  maniac  covered  his  eyes  with  his 
hands,  and  stood  trembling.  Suddenly  uncovering  them 
he  glared  in  front  of  him,  and  staggering  back  cried,  "  He 
writhes  I  he  writhes  ! "  Then  bursting  into  a  fit  of  wild 
laughter  he  exclaimed,  "  Have  a  care,  you  lantern-jawed 
Reb  !  or  he  11  kick  your  grinning  teeth  out !  Ha,  ha,  ha  ! 
Have  a  care,  I  say !  He  kicks  !  he  kicks  !  Tell  Bob  Lee 
he  kicks ! " 

Prescott  suspected  that  he  had  been  put  in  this  cell  with 
his  brother-soldier  to  carry  out  a  grim  jest  of  his  persecu 
tors,  who  expected  to  have  him  utterly  broken  of  his  sleep, 
which,  with  the  terrible  presence  of  the  madman,  and  the 
damp,  noxious  air  of  the  cell,  would  secure  the  result  they 
aimed  at.  He  therefore  decided  to  act  cautiously,  and  let 
them  be  confirmed  in  the  idea  that  his  rest  and  quiet  were 
at  the  mercy  of  the  maniac ;  so  lying  quietly,  and  making 
no  noise,  he  allowed  him  to  rave  on  with  his  screaming, 
howling,  and  laughter,  to  be  heard  by  any  one  above  who 
perchance  might  be  awake. 

The  mad  soldier  abruptly  changed  the  scene  of  his  terri 
ble  fantasms.  Suddenly  beginning  to  rush  about  as  far 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  293 

as  his  clanking  chain  would  permit,  he  cried  as  he  waved  his 
hands  toward  the  door,  "  Drive  in  the  pickets  !  Drive  'em 
in  !  Drive  'em  in  !  Now  scamper ! "  he  yelled  with  another 
wild  laugh,  —  "  scamper,  you  infernal  Johnnies  !  Bang  ! 
Bang  !  Take  that  and  be  off !  Hi,  hi,  there  !  Ha,  ha,  ha, 
ha,  ha  ! "  He  was  evidently,  with  his  imaginary  prisoners, 
hunting  down  the  vermin  of  one  of  his  prisons. 

Thus  he  continued  to  rave,  shifting  from  one  horrible 
scene  to  another,  and  picturing  some  of  them  so  vividly  in 
his  madness  that  Prescott  shuddered  as  he  listened. 

Finally,  when  the  latter  judged  his  purpose  in  reference 
to  those  above  had  been  sufficiently  accomplished,  he  cried 
in  suppressed  but  commanding  tones,  — 

"  Corporal  Lenning,  silence  your  men,  and  go  to  sleep  ! " 

The  mad  corporal  immediately  responded  by  a  loud 
"  Hist !  "  as  if  to  his  men,  and  again  lying  down  was  soon 
once  more  asleep. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

LONG,  interminable  days,  and  long  and  gloomy  nights 
passed  by.  What  with  the  incessant  exertion  of  his 
will  on  the  maniac,  the  cold,  damp  cell,  and  the  meagre 
food,  —  which,  with  a  wretched  attempt  at  wit,  the  brutal 
attendant  had  once  informed  him  "  was  such  rations  as 
was  ruin  to  the  government  to  furnish  two  such  drones  in 
the  service,"  —  these  rations,  as  the  reader  will  infer  from 
the  remark,  being  divided  between  him  and  his  mad  mess 
mate,  —  the  strong  and  robust  Prescott  Marland  was  grow 
ing  thin,  pale,  and  anxious. 

Once  he  had  sprung  upon  this  attendant  as  he  came  to 
the  door,  but  besides  being  powerful  himself  the  fellow  had 


294       THE  VETEEAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

called  reinforcements,  and  the  young  soldier  was  tumbled 
about  in  his  cell,  promised  short  rations  for  a  few  days,  and 
threatened  with  the  "  walking-over-him "  performance, — 
which  meant  that  a  heavy,  powerful  attendant  would  break 
in  his  ribs  with  his  knees,  —  if  he  tried  it  again. 

But  just  as  even  the  elastic  and  buoyant  spirit  of  Pres- 
cott  Marland  was  about  to  settle  into  a  sort  of  dull  despair 
an  event  occurred  on  which  the  watchful  doctor  and  his 
wolf-like,  vigilant  attendants  had  not  calculated. 

One  night,  when  all  was  still  throughout  the  mad-house, 
Prescott,  who  was  awake,  heard  a  peculiar  clicking  sound 
at  his  door;  in  another  moment  the  hinges  slightly 
creaked,  and  some  one  whispered,  — 

"Is  Marland  here ?" 

Prescott  instantly  returned  the  answer,  also  in  a  whis 
per, - 

"  I  am  here." 

"  I  am  a  friend,  —  come ! " 

Prescott  went  to  the  door. 

"  Who  are  you  ? "  he  asked. 

"  A  friend  who  will  open  every  door  between  ourselves 
and  freedom  in  an  hour." 

Prescott  thought  a  moment. 

"  I  understand  you,"  said  the  other,  while  the  young 
Lieutenant  was  made  aware  that  this  strange  and  unex 
pected  friend  was  silently  laughing.  "  But  I  am  no  more 
crazy  than  you  are.  I  'm  an  unfortunate  inventor,  that  is 
all.  But  I  can't  stop  here  to  talk !  Come  with  me  into 
the  open  air,  or  stay  here,  as  you  choose.  I  have  that 
here  "  —  and  he  showed  two  pieces  of  bent  wire  —  "  which 
will  pass  us  along  without  tickets." 

The  maniac,  who  had  also  been  asleep,  now  stirred,  and 
Prescott,  startled  for  fear  his  voice  would  expose  the  open 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  295 

door,  darted  out,  and  in  another  moment  the  inventor  had 
silently  closed  it,  and,  taking  his  companion  by  the  sleeve, 
began  ascending  a  stairway. 

The  young  Lieutenant  looked  back  and  mentally  uttered 
a  "  good-by,"  and  sighed  as  he  thought  of  the  unfortunate 
being  whom  he  had  learned  to  regard,  with  all  his  raving 
madness,  with  the  sympathy  of  a  messmate. 

"  If  I  succeed  in  getting  out  of  here,  my  poor  comrade, 
you  shall  have  better  quarters  than  this  nest  of  devils  fur 
nishes  you  ! "  he  exclaimed  to  himself  as  he  cautiously 
mounted  the  stairs. 

As  each  succeeding  door  was  reached  his  guide  proved 
as  good  as  his  word.  To  Prescott's  astonishment,  bolt  after 
bolt  of  the  heavy  locks,  which  fastened  insane  patients  and 
sane  prisoners  alike  in  this  abominable  and  falsely  named 
asylum,  yielded  to  the  pressure  of  his  simple  implements, 
and  flew  back  to  let  them  pass. 

Once  they  stopped  in  suspense,  startled  by  a  noise  above. 
It  was  only  the  voice  of  a  harmless  lunatic.  They  heard 
nothing  else  and  went  on. 

They  neared  the  hall  which  led  to  the  front  door. 

"  Here,"  whispered  the  inventor,  "  is  the  doctor's  private 
Office." 

A  thought  struck  Prescott. 

"  If  I  but  had  a  light,"  said  he,  "  I  would  like  to  take  a 
survey  of  this  same  office." 

"  It  shall  be  done,"  said  his  companion  with  another  of 
those  silent  laughs.  Opening  the  door  with  his  magic 
wires  he  bade  Prescott  enter,  and  following  him  took  a 
match  from  some  cotton-padding  which  he  got  at  through 
a  rent  in  his  vest,  and  lit  it,  at  the  same  time  saying  with 
a  grin,  "When  these  stupid  fellows  prove  a  match  for 
Jacob  Easter  then  Jacob  Easter  '11  give  up  the  match." 


296  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

Prescott's  eyes  now  fell  upon  a  small  nursery -lamp, 
which  had  evidently  been  left  there  that  night  by  Dr. 
Pennell  in  somewhat  of  a  hurry,  inasmuch  as  the  cap  was 
left  carelessly  hanging.  After  a  little  effort  the  lamp  was 
lighted,  and  the  young  Lieutenant,  with  the  assistance  of 
the  inventor,  quickly  proceeded  to  business. 

With  the  aid  of  smaller  instruments  than  he  had  been 
using,  which  he  improvised  from  the  wire  of  the  doctor's 
gas-shade,  the  inventor  rapidly  opened  desk,  drawers,  and 
safe,  the  lock  of  which  was  not  complicated,  and  all  papers 
that  Prescott  could  lay  hands  on  were  confiscated  as  con 
traband  of  war,  Tying  them  into  a  bundle  quicker  even 
than  he  had  ever  packed  his  knapsack  on  a  ten  minutes' 
notice  to  march,  he  gave  the  word  to  his  companion  to  put 
out  the  light,  and  left  the  office  with  a  look  of  supreme 
satisfaction. 

When  they  arrived  at  the  front  door  Prescott's  heart  beat 
with  quickened  pulse  as  in  anticipation  he  breathed  the 
free  air  of  heaven  into  those  lungs  that  had  for  so  many 
days  inhaled  the  pestiferous  vapors  of  his  cell. 

This  lock  gave  the  inventor  more  trouble  than  had  any 
of  the  others. 

While  he  was  working  away  at  the  obstinate  bolts  they 
heard  a  loud  yawn ;  and  then  a  rough  voice,  which  Prescott 
recognized  as  the  one  that  sung  his  funeral  dirge  when  he 
was  borne  to  his  gloomy  quarters,  called  out,  — 

"  Betty !  have  done  with  that  scratching  !  -You  know 
what  I  told  ye  if  ye  did  n't  stop  that  kind  of  night 
work!" 

The  inventor  reached  out  his  hand,  and  placed  it  over 
the  young  Lieutenant's  mouth  as  a  warning  for  perfect 
silence ;  but  the  latter  was  already  as  motionless  as  were 
he  and  the  scouts  whom  he  often  commanded,  when  in  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       297 

night  they  would  suddenly  find  themselves  in  the  vicinity 
of  Eebel  pickets,  though  as  he  listened  a  light  would  have 
reyealed  a  face  in  which  the  determination  to  die  rather 
than  again  be  incarcerated  was  strongly  apparent. 

But  nothing  more  wras  heard.  Silence  again  reigned 
throughout  the  mad-house,  broken  only  by  a  faint  howl, 
which  Prescott  shudderingly  fancied  to  be  the  wail  of  the 
mad  corporal  on  finding  his  commander  gone,  and  once 
more  the  inventor  essayed  to  pick  the  last  lock,  his  very 
fingers  seeming  conscious  of  the  necessity  for  the  most 
extreme  caution. 

Presently  one  or  two  sounds,  so  slight  that  they  could 
hardly  be  called  clicks,  were  heard,  and  then  the  door  was 
silently  swung  on  its  hinges,  and  in  another  instant  the 
two  captives  stood  in  the  open  air. 

Closing  the  door  as  quickly  and  silently  as  he  had  opened 
it,  the  inventor  exclaimed  in  a  whisper,  — 

"  Now  the  sooner  our  legs  carry  us  out  of  this  the 
better ! " 

And  thereupon  they  sped  away,  keeping  a  lookout  for 
patrolmen,  who  might  take  them  to  be  thieves. 

When  they  felt  confident  that  they  had  put  themselves 
beyond  all  attempts  at  pursuit,  they  slackened  their  pace 
and  fell  into  conversation. 

Prescott  expressed  his  astonishment  at  what  had  just 
been  done  by  his  companion. 

"  If  I  had  been  told  all  this  I  should  scarcely  have  be 
lieved  the  story,"  he  said. 

The  inventor  laughed.  "  With  the  exception  of  taking 
along  a  companion  as  I  have  to-night,  all  this  has  been 
done  before  in  a  much  larger  place  than  this  den  of  iniqui 
ty,  and  under  more  extraordinary  circumstances.  The  free 
dom  given  me  enabled  me,  with  eyes  and  ears  made  alert 

13* 


298       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

by  a  speedy  knowledge  of  the  character  of  the  place,  to  post 
myself  in  regard  to  your  sanity  and  the  number  of  your 
cell;  and  as  for  my  performance  with  my  wires,  if  you 
would  like  to  hear  it,  I  will  tell  you  what  happened  in 
Massachusetts  several  years  ago,  which  really  suggested  to 
me  what  you  have  just  seen  me  do." 

"  Now  is  the  very  time  to  hear  it/'  answered  Prescott. 
"  After  my  incarceration  in  that  terrible  cell  with  the  rav 
ings  of  a  madman  forever  in  my  ears,  nothing  would  please 
me  more  than  a  narrative  of  more  wonderful  exploits  than 
yours  has  been  to-night." 

"  It  happened  several  years  ago  in  Boston  and  vicinity, 
and  the  actor  was  an  inventor  like  myself,"  said  the  other. 
"  He  had  been  quite  sick,  his  illness  threatening  to  settle 
on  the  lungs.  One  day  he  was  attacked  with  a  paroxysm, 
as  near  as  I  could  ascertain,  and  he  cried  out  for  air.  Those 
about  him  would  give  him  none.  He  was  suffocating, 
and  again  demanded  air,  telling  the  servant  to  let  down 
the  window;  but  he  was  again  refused,  and  interference 
combined  with  the  refusal  in  a  manner  which  tended  to  ex 
cite  his  already  fevered  brain,  and  a  will  naturally  intense 
and  calculated  to  repel  such  interference.  His  chest  was 
now  terribly  oppressed,  and  leaping  from  his  bed  he  opened 
the  window  himself.  It  was  immediately  closed  by  one 
whom  he  considered  had  no  authority  to  do  so.  This 
treatment,  together  with  his  condition,  which  those  about 
him  should  have  seen  required  that  his  wish  be  granted, 
increased  his  paroxysm  to  such  a  degree  that  he  rushed  out 
of  the  room  and  through  the  entry  crying,  "  Air !  air ! "  and 
reaching  the  front  door  he  kicked  out  the  side-lights  and 
commenced  breathing  the  fresh  air  into  his  laboring 
lungs. 

" The  cry  now  arose, '  He 's  mad!  he 's  mad !'  and  strong 


THE  VETERAN.  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       299 

men  for  whom  he  entertained  an  intense  personal  dislike 
were  sent  for,  and  forthwith  everything  was  done  to  in 
crease  a  temporary  paroxysm  —  started  by  congestion  and 
aggravated  by  unwise  treatment  —  into  the  symptoms  of 
madness.  While  the  men  whom  he  so  intensely  disliked 
were  hastening  to  ignorantly  do  all  in  their  power  to  in 
crease  these  symptoms,  he  was  making  his  way  to  the  yard 
for  "  air !  more  air ! " 

"  The  end  of  it  was,  he  was  driven  an  hour  or  so  after 
wards  to  the  Somerville  Asylum,  and  there  treated  as  in 
sane.  He  had  a  high  spirit,  and  would  not  brook  being 
treated  as  a  madman.  He  did  not  choose  to  lie  and  cringe, 
nor  did  he  wish  to  adopt  the  policy  of  enduring  his  treat 
ment  with  pretended  patience.  He  behaved  as  you  or  I 
would,  if  any  one  should  come  to  our  houses  and  undertake 
to  treat  us  as  if  we  were  crazy.  If  you  have  studied  the 
history  of  insanity  to  any  extent,  you  will  readily  appre 
hend  that  if  once  a  sane  man  gets  into  an  asylum  as  an  in 
sane  man,  any  display  of  that  high  spirit  with  which  sanity 
will  repel  insulting  and  unjust  treatment  will  be  set  down, 
with  perhaps  rare  exceptions,  as  the  evidence  of  in 
sanity  ! 

" '  I  am  going  to  leave  your  place/  said  my  fellow-crafts 
man  one  day  to  Dr.  ,  'and  you  can't  prevent  me.' 

The  doctor  smiled.  But  his  smiling  did  n't  prevent  his 
so-called  patient  from  keeping  his  word ;  for  being  allowed 
to  walk  in  the  garden,  one  day  he  secured  an  apple-twig, 
and  that  night  with  this  and  a  piece  of  wire  he  picked 
every  lock  that  stood  in  his  way,  and  went  home." 

"  It  seems  incredible  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott. 

"  Hold  on,"  said  the  inventor.  "  I  have  n't  finished  yet. 
You  see  this  going  directly  home  was  to  me  the  only  really 
insane  act  he  seems  to  have  committed.  The  doctor  sent 


300       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

right  over  there  as  soon  as  he  found  him  gone,  and  his 
wife,  whom  I  understand  to  have  been  a  woman  of  rare 
excellence,  was  induced  by  the  ill-considered  warnings  that 
were  poured  into  her  ears,  to  give  her  consent  that  he  be 
again  incarcerated.  He  was  accordingly  seized  and  taken 
back  to  the  asylum,  where  he  complained  he  was  treated 
worse  than  he  was  before,  —  and  he  declared  that  his 
former  treatment  was  bad  enough.  He  told  Dr. a  sec 
ond  time  that  he  should  leave.  I  don't  recollect  distinctly 
what  he  reported  the  doctor's  answer  to  be,  but  I  think  it 
was  a  threat  of  severe  punishment  if  he  should  attempt  it. 
But  go  he  did,  in  spite  of  an  extra  watch  that  was  set  on 
him,  this  time  picking  his  way  out  with  a  wire  and  bent 
nail,  if  I  remember  aright." 

"  And  did  they  catch  him  again  ? "  asked  Prescott, 
deeply  interested  in  this  remarkable  account. 

"They  did  not.  He  hid  in  a  cornfield  the  rest  of  the 
night,  and  then  contrived  to  send  a  message  to  his  wife 
through  relations  in  Charlestown,  informing  her  of  his 
escape,  and  telling  her  that  if  she  would  send  word  that  he 
could  return  home  and  remain  in  peace,  he  would  come ; 
but  if  not,  he  should  leave  the  place,  I  think  forever." 

"  And  she  sent  the  promise  ? "  said  Prescott. 

"  Yes.  And  the  striking  part  is,  that  this  man  who  had 
been  twice  incarcerated  in  an  asylum,  escaping  the  first  time 
and  then  the  second,  in  spite  of  the  doctor  who  pronounced 
him  insane,  and  treated  him  as  such,  and,  according  to  his 
statements,  in  a  manner  to  be  condemned,  —  this  man  to 
day  is  exactly  the  man,  as  to  sanity,  that  he  was  when  he 
picked  his  way  out  of  the  asylum  ;  and  yet  since  that  time 
he  not  only  has  borne  a  sound  reputation  as  a  worthy  and 
useful  citizen,  but  has  produced  an  invention  the  value  of 
which  may  be  judged  from  innumerable  infringements,  and 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       301 

has  fought  his  way  back  in  some  degree  to  the  pecuniary 
position  which  he  enjoyed  before  his  sickness,  but  which  he 
lost  during  this  illness  through  the  dishonesty  of  others ; 
moreover,  having  lost  his  first  wife,  he  has  again  married, 

—  which  is  the  only  evidence  of  insanity,  I  presume,  that 
even  Dr. would  venture  to  adduce."  * 

Prescott,  who  had  continued  beyond  the  corner  where  he 
was  to  turn,  that  he  might  not  interrupt  his  companion's 
interesting  narration,  now  stopped,  and  after  a  moment's 
thought  he  said,  — 

"  This  seems  to  me  an  impressive  lesson  in  reference  to 
private  asylums.  If  such  a  case  could  happen  in  a  public 
asylum  under  the  direction  of  a  State  which  is  known  to 
devote  so  much  attention  to  the  subject  of  insanity,  what 
may  we  not  expect  of  those  private  mad-houses  where  it  is 
for  the  interest  of  the  proprietors  to  have  their  establish 
ments  well  filled,  and  which,  say  what  men  please,  are  to  a 
degree  irresponsible  ?  Of  course  this  villain,  from  whose 
clutches  we  have  just  escaped,  is  an  exception.  He  evi 
dently  is  a  monster  who,  like  the  wolves  that  put  on  the 
preacher's  garb  as  a  covering  for  their  crimes,  institutes  a 
private  mad-house  as  a  means  for  his  own  infamous  ends, 

—  and  if  I  have  that  here,"  he  said  tapping  the  bundle  of 
papers  taken  from  Dr.  Pennell's  office,  "  that  will  in  any 
way  enable  me  to  break  up  his  den,  I  shall  account  my 
sojourn  under  his  roof  as  well  recompensed.      But  aside 
from  this  fellow,  I  think  there  is  something  about  private 
mad-houses  which  requires  that  they  be  looked  into." 

"  You  speak  my  thought,"  responded  the  inventor,  shak 
ing  hands  with  the  young  Lieutenant.  "  I  know  myself  to 
be  the  intended  victim  of  designing  men,  and  I  suppose 

*  This  account  is  literally  true,  the  authors  "being  personally  cognizant 
of  the  facts. 


302  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY. 

you  know  equally  as  well  from  whence  your  madness 
springs ! " 

"  I  presume  I  do,"  returned  Prescott,  compressing  his 
lips  in  a  manner  that  boded  ill  to  those  whom  the  inven 
tor's  words  called  up  to .  his  mind.  Then  with  another 
shake  of  the  hand  they  parted,  promising  to  see  each  other 
again. 


CHAPTEK  XXXIX. 

PEESCOTT  had  scarcely  passed  a  dozen  blocks  when  a 
man  suddenly  appeared  from  a  side  street,  and  met 
him  on  the  corner  under  a  street-lamp. 

"  Hallo  ! "  exclaimed  this  man.  "  Why,  comrade  !  what 
in  the  name  of  these  short  hours  brings  you  here  ? " 

Prescott  saw  to  his  surprise  that  it  was  Charles  Eoberts. 

Grasping  his  hand  he  in  turn  exclaimed,  — 

"  Comrade  Eoberts  !    You  here  this  time  of  night ! " 

"Well,"  said  Eoberts,  laughing,  "my  presence  answers 
your  question,  but  my  question  remains  unanswered." 

"  True,"  returned  Prescott,  with  a  change  of  countenance. 
"  I  promise  to  tell  you  at  some  other  time,  and  also  why  I 
am  looking  a  little  strange  and  sickly,  which  I  perceive  you 
are  wondering  at." 

"  All  right."  And  as  the  countenance  of  the  other  also 
changed  he  said,  "  I  am  just  returning  from  a  comrade  who 
will  tell  no  more  of  his  adventures  here.  I  watched  with 
him.  He  died  two  hours  ago,  and  I  remained  to  help  at 
tend  to  the  body." 

"  Does  he  leave  a  family  ? " 

"  Yes,  but  they  shall  be  cared  for." 

"  They  are  poor,  then  ? " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       303 

"  Yes ;  but,  thank  God  !  we  are  now  so  organized  that  we 
can  get  at  many  of  our  comrades'  families  and  relieve  them, 
from  the  funds  with  which  so  many  of  our  generous  citi 
zens  respond  to  our  call.  Fortunately  one  or  two  of  these 
children  are  nearly  old  enough  to  help  the  whole  family, 
and  all  they  need  is  a  little  bridging  over." 

The  Deering  family  was  continually  in  Prescott's  mind. 
He  now  asked  Eoberts  if  he  had  yet  heard  from  them. 

"  Heard  from  them !  Heavens,  comrade !  Save  me  from 
another  sight  like  that ! " 

"  My  worst  fears  were  realized,  then ! " 

"  Eealized,  comrade  !  You  could  not  have  pictured  it ! 
Up,  up,  up  I  went,  the  broken  and  rickety  stairs  threaten 
ing  to  crush  in  at  every  step,  and  then  I  opened  a  door 
that  was  ready  to  fall  at  a  touch,  and  there  was  a  sight  that 
beggars  my  tongue  to  describe  to  you  !  My  first  exclama 
tion  was,  '  Great  God  !  is  this  a  soldier's  family  ? '  I  Ve 
read  of  such  scenes,  but  I  never  saw  one  before.  They 
were  dying  of  starvation,  comrade,  in  a  wretched,  dilapi 
dated  attic,  the  roof  broken  in,  and  no  fire  !  Another  day 
of  such  sickness  and  starvation  would  have  finished  the 
boy,  and  two  days  would  have  seen  the  sad  work  com 
pleted  !  Scarcely  was  there  flesh  enough  on  the  whole 
four  from  which  to  draw  a  single  drop  of  blood.  Their 
eyes  were  as  sunken  as  the  eyes  of  the  dead,  and  their 
faces  looked  like  masks  of  parchment !  And  the  cold  was 
raw  enough  to  make  me  shiver  even  in  my  warm  gar 
ments  ! " 

"  And  they  but  meagrely  dressed  ? "  uttered  Prescott, 
forgetting  his  own  recent  trials  in  the  contemplation  of  this 
suffering  family. 

"  '  Dressed  ! '  Comrade,  if  I  could  but  have  marched  that 
wife  and  those  three  children  of  a  fallen  soldier  through 


304       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

these  streets  as  they  then  looked,  with  their  pinched  and 
sickly  visages,  and  their^  attenuated  forms  draggling-  with 
their  scant  and  tattered  garments,  and  placed  a  banner  over 
them  with  the  motto, '  BEHOLD  A  FAMILY  OF  THE  COUNTRY'S 
DEFENDERS  ! '  I  fear  me  more  than  one  heart  would  have 
bled  that  does  not  often  move  with  emotion,  and  eyes  that 
rarely  weep  would  have  viewed  the  passing  train  through 
tears  they  could  not  hold  back  !  " 

"  But,  thank  God,  you  have  found  them ! "  exclaimed 
Prescott,  deeply  affected. 

"  Yes.  It  was  a  long,  close  search,  but  I  persevered  and 
traced  them  at  last.  My  first  move  was  to  obtain  nourish 
ing  food.  Ah,  comrade !  you  should  have  seen  the  two 
little  girls  eat !  The  crippled  one  would  have  killed  her 
self  if  I  had  not  stood  by  to  watch  her.  Then  I  had 
them  removed  to  comfortable  quarters,  and  they  are  all 
doing  well.  It  won't  be  long  before  Joseph  will  be  able  to 
go  to  work  forx  their  support." 

"  From  all  accounts  this  Joseph  is  a  noble  boy,  and  de 
serves  a  better  position  than  vending  candy  on  the  cars." 

"  The  Grand  Army  will  attend  to  that.  As  soon  as  he  is 
sufficiently  recovered  he  shall  not  want  for  a  good  situation 
that  will  pay  him  enough  to  make  them  comfortable,  with 
what  the  mother  may  be  able  to  earn ;  and  the  G.  A.  E.  will 
see  that  she  has  plenty  to  do,  at  a  price  that  will  pay  for 
her  labor." 

"  Comrade ! "  exclaimed  Prescott,  clasping  the  other's 
hand, "  may  Heaven  bless  the  soldier  who  conceived  and 
initiated  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic !  This  one  fam 
ily  preserved  from  so  terrible  a  death  is  sufficient  to  repay 
our  Order  in  this  city  for  years  of  labor  !  " 

"  True,  comrade !  every  word  true  !  But  this  is  only  one 
of  many  cases  —  though  the  others  may  not  be  so  bad  — 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       305 

which  we  have  already  taken  in  hand,  and  which  would 
probably  not  have  been  reached  by  any  but  ourselves.  The 
idea  of  the  soldier  taking  care  of  the  family  of  the  soldier 
has  been  tested  to  the  satisfaction  of  every  one  who  desires 
that  the  vows  made  to  the  Union  volunteer  when  he  en 
listed  shall  be  sacredly  fulfilled.  And  I  tell  you,  comrade, 
I  think  every  day  of  the  talk  we  had  on  the  train  about 
the  principles  of  our  Order.  As  one  case  after  another 
comes  up  where  we  find  soldiers'  families  in  want  and  are 
able  to  relieve  them,  they  each  add  emphasis  to  that  prin 
ciple  whereby  we  are  to  eschew  all  acts  which  demoralize, 
and  which  are  sure  in  the  end  to  prove  disastrous. 

"I  knew  your  experience  here  would  confirm  in  your 
mind  all  we  then  said." 

"  My  observation  has  also  shown  me  that  care  must  be 
taken  not  to  tire  our  friends  by  incessant  cries  dinned  into 
their  ears.  Let  us  be  bold,  but  circumspect ;  not  backward 
in  pressing  the  just  claims  of  the  soldier,  but  judicious  in 
so  doing.  If  Justice  herself  bawls  with  a  loud  voice  she  is 
repelled,  —  you  know  that,  comrade,  —  and  the  soldier  can 
not  expect  to  fare  better.  Let  us  rather  imitate  our  own 
victorious  commanders,  whose  heads  and  arms  did  the 
work,  the  tongue  wagging  sufficiently  for  the  purpose,  but 
no  more." 

"  You  are  right,  comrade.  The  soldier  should  make  it  a 
point  to  teach  rather  than  be  taught  that  practical  com 
mon  sense  which  it  is  believed  service  in  the  field  imparts. 
Of  course  it  is  the  impulse  of  the  soldier  to  fight ;  but  it 
is  also  his  training  to  see  that  he  fights  to  some  purpose." 

"  That 's  so  every  time !  As  regards  politics,  I  by  no 
means  would  advise  silence  where,  citizens  as  represented 
by  their  local  governments  manifestly  fail  year  after  year 
to  keep  their  pledges  to  the  soldiers,  as  in  the  case  of  monu- 


306       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

ments  to  the  memory  of  the  fallen,  and  other  forms  in 
which  the  promises  of  a  nation  can  only  be  fulfilled 
through  such  governments.  Here  it  may  become  absolutely 
necessary  that  the  soldiers  rise  in  their  united  strength  and 
enforce  the  fulfilment  of  these  pledges.  But  not  as  politi 
cians,  —  simply  as  the  executors  of  justice." 

"  And  executors  of  the  loyal  and  patriotic  spirit  of  the 
country  too." 

"  Yes.  But  this  once  accomplished,  let  the  soldier  not 
display  weakness,  and  become  demoralized  by  the  smell 
of  the  political  blood  which  may  have  been  necessarily 
spilt  in  the  operation.  Let  him  fall  back  to  his  proper 
base,  and  attend  to  the  work  that  belongs  to  him ;  and  if 
he  wishes  to  engage  in  politics  simply  as  a  politician,  let 
him  not  advance  his  claims  in  this  business  as  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic,  nor  in  any  way 
attempt  to  involve  the  G.  A.  E.  in  political  schemes.  My 
sentiments  on  this  subject  have  been  made  if  possible  the 
more  decided  by  a  letter  which  I  received  last  week  from  a 
soldier,  where  no  Post  has  yet  been  organized,  who  writes 
that  a  soldiers'  club  to  which  he  belongs,  though  flourishing 
a  short  time  since,  is  now  threatened  with  dissolution  from 
tampering  with  politics,  having  not  only  lost  the  respect  and 
sympathy  of  the  citizens,  but  created  dissension  in  their 
own  ranks.  The  difficulty  was,  they  were  made  use  of  by 
an  ambitious  member,  under  the  specious  plea  that  if  he 
got  into  office  he  should  look  out  for  the  soldier  at  every 
turn." 

"A  good  warning,"  replied  Prescott.  "In  view  of  all 
these  things,  it  is  gratifying  to  know  that  the  national 
officers  of  the  Order  are  so  strict  and  emphatic  in  their  in 
junctions  to  shun  all  such  causes  of  disaffection  in  organ 
ized  bodies." 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  307 

"  And  no  Order  should  be  kept  more  pure  than  ours/' 
responded  Eoberts.  "Besides  its  beneficent  work,  the 
Grand  Army  of  the  Eepublic  is  to  stand  as  the  representa 
tive  of  that  loyalty  and  patriotism  which  has  in  so  sublime 
a  manner  been  displayed  in  the  recent  conflict  of  liberty 
and  freedom  against  slavery  and  servitude,  —  which  in  a 
day  transformed  the  American  citizen  into  a  soldier  with 
rifle  on  his  shoulder  and  knapsack  at  his  back,  and  sus 
tained  him  through  the  horrors  of  one  of  the  most  terrible 
of  wars,  with  a  spirit  which  only  a  great  cause  can  inspire ! 
Comrade,  I  think  you  will  agree  with  me  that  the  princi 
ples  which  govern  our  Order  are  the  only  principles  that 
can  insure  a  thorough  and  enduring  harmony  between 
the  North  and  South.  No  reconciliation  can  endure  which 
is  not  founded  in  justice ;  and  especially  is  no  reconcilia 
tion  sure  to  abide  between  the  North  and  South  that  is 
not  founded  in  that  justice  which  is  the  result  of  single- 
minded  devotion  to  the  highest  and  best  interests  of  the 
whole  country  as  a  country  of  freedom.  And  who  so  likely 
to  appreciate  the  sacred  institutions  of  liberty  as  those 
who  have  fought  to  maintain  them  ?  They  had  too  solemn 
a  duty  to  perform  easily  to  forget  that  for  which  they 
offered  up  their  lives.  No ;  let  our  principles  of  Fraternity, 
Charity,  and  Loyalty  abide  and  perform  their  high  mission, 
uncontaminated  by  those  influences  which,  emanating  from 
private  ambition  and  political  aspirations,  can  only  touch 
to  destroy." 

"  Nobly  uttered,  comrade  ! "  exclaimed  Prescott.  "  There 
's  not  a  true  member  of  the  Gr.  A.  R  that  will  not  indorse 
that !  While  outside  issues  can  only  tend  to  diminish  the 
efficiency  in  respect  to  charity,  a  proper  consideration  of 
these  great  principles  of  which  you  speak  can  but  enhance 
that  efficiency  by  inspiring  within  us  yet  higher  and  more 


308  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

enduring  motives  of  action.  I  do  not  understand  you  to 
oppose  the  sentiment,"  he  continued,  "  which  demands  that 
the  soldier,  other  things  being  equal,  shall  have  the  prefer 
ence  in  all  offices  of  trust  and  emolument  at  the  disposal 
of  the  government  they  fought  to  preserve ;  and  that  the 
promises  of  citizens,  to  the  effect  that  the  deserving  soldier 
should  not  lack  for  employment  if  their  efforts  could  secure 
it  for  him,  and  other  assurances  of  this  kind,  be  fulfilled  in 
the  spirit  with  which  they  were  made." 

"  No,  indeed !  On  the  contrary,  I  stand  ready  to  pro 
nounce  any  other  line  of  conduct,  by  either  government  or 
citizens,  as  ingratitude  and  a  violation  of  their  pledges.  I 
regret  to  say  that  there  have  been  too  many  instances  in 
connection  with  government  employ  where  the  just  claims 
of  the  soldier  have  been  ignored.  It  is  well  known,  for 
example,  that  at  the  navy-yards  such  cases  have  occurred 
with  reprehensible  frequency,  and  demand  the  rebuke  of 
the  loyal  public  ! " 

"  You  express  my  own  mind.  I  am  convinced  these  are 
the  sentiments  of  all  just  and  candid  citizens,  and  to  your 
last  words  they  would  give  an  outspoken  response,  were 
they  knowing  to  the  facts." 

Prescott  and  Roberts  were  now  about  to  part. 

"  Tell  me,  comrade,"  said  the  young  Lieutenant,  "  where 
the  Deering  family  may  be  found.  There  are  those  who 
will  not  let  many  hours  pass  before  visiting  them  in  their 
new  quarters." 

Eoberts,  taking  out  the  memorandum-book  in  which 
Prescott  had  with  such  painful  emotions  seen  the  name  of 
Allen  Paige's  family  entered,  stopped  by  a  street-lamp  and 
wrote  the  desired  direction  on  a  leaf,  and  tearing  it  out, 
gave  it  to  him. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Prescott,  reading  it :  "Joseph  Deering's 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  309 

family,  No.  —  Eighth  Avenue!'  And  the  noble  fellow  act 
ually  forgot  for  the  moment  the  anticipated  delight  of  once 
more  being  in  Emma's  presence,  in  thinking  of  the  hap 
piness  of  the  whole  family  when  he  should  give  them  this 
direction,  and  tell  them  what  the  Grand  Army  had  done 
for  the  poor  sufferers  to  whom  it  would  guide  them. 

"  You  promised  to  tell  me  if  the  family  of  Allen  Paige 
should  need  aid  from  us,"  said  Eoberts.  "  Have  you  heard 
from  them  lately  ? " 

"  I  shall  probably  see  them  to-morrow,"  replied  Prescott, 
while  a  shadow  passed  over  his  face ;  "  and  if  they  need 
assistance,  1 11  not  fail  to  inform  you.  Good  night." 

"Goodnight." 


CHAPTER    XL. 

OUE  present  chapter  opens  not  far  from  the  Bowery,  in 
Chatham  Street.  "We  enter  a  building  which  seems 
nodding  to  its  neighbor  over  the  way ;  and,  mounting  three 
flights  of  stairs,  pass  into  a  kind  of  loft,  now  occupied  by 
one  of  those  characters  which  only  New  York  and  Cali 
fornia  combined  can  produce. 

As  the  occupant  is  out  for  a  few  moments,  we  will  take 
a  survey  of  this  singular  chamber.  One  would,  think,  at 
first  sight,  that  he  was  inside  a  menagerie.  Bear  and  buf 
falo  skins  form  the  bed  ;  a  panther-skin  covers  one  wooden 
chair  and  the  hide  of  a  wolf  another.  A  skin  so  worn 
that  it  would  be  difficult  to  name  it  is  spread  upon  the 
floor  as  a  mat ;  and  the  boards  which  form  the  walls  of  the 
room  are  covered  with  a  variety  of  unique  California  relics, 
such  as  an  eccentric  adventurer  would  be  likely  to  bring 
East  as  trophies  of  his  exploits  in  that  famous  region.  The 


310       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

effect  of  these  embellishments  was  enhanced  by  two  fan 
tastic  suits,  such  as  are  worn  by  circus  clowns. 

A  lasso  coiled  over  a  nail,  one  end  carried  in  a  pictu 
resque  way  over  two  or  three  adjoining  nails,  tells  of  ex 
ploits  on  the  prairies  with  the  national  weapon  of  the 
Mexicans,  which  perchance  brought  down  the  poor  buffalo 
whose  hide  now  serves  for  a  couch. 

Several  cannon-balls  of  various  sizes  appear  in  one  cor 
ner  of  the  loft,  not  far  from  which  lies  a  small  pile  of  hides 
that  bear  evidence  of  long  and  rough  usage ;  while  in  dif 
ferent  parts  of  the  room  are  heavy  weights,  clubs,  and 
other  implements  suggestive  of  athletic  amusement. 

Presently  the  proprietor  of  this  grotesque  apartment  en 
ters,  and  we  behold  a  man  of  powerful  frame,  with  a  face 
combining  simplicity  and  shrewdne'ss.  His  gait  has  that 
peculiar  rolling  motion  characteristic  of  the  powerful  gym 
nast,  whereby  is  indicated  the  perfect  "floating"  of  the 
hips,  which  seems  to  be  the  very  foundation  of  that  statu 
esque  grace,  yet  unrivalled,  that  characterizes  the  works 
of  the  ancient  Greeks. 

Preparing  his  dress  for  exercise,  he  takes  a  couple  of  the 
largest  clubs  and  flourishes  them  about  his  head  as  though 
they  were  made  of  bamboo.  Then  he  picks  up  two  of  the 
heaviest  weights,  and  gives  them  such  a  handling  as  indi 
cates  prodigious  strength. 

After  practising  awhile  with  these  weights,  he  puts  them 
down,  and  approaches  that  part  of  the  loft  where  lie  the 
cannon-balls  and  worn  hides.  Drawing  the  latter  a  little 
farther  into  the  room  he  spreads  them  so  as  to  cover  a  cir 
cular  space  about  four  feet  in  diameter,  and  then  grasping 
a  large  ball  he  proceeds  to  the  performance  of  the  remark 
able  feats  of  the  circus  arena,  that  causes  the  spectator  to 
hold  his  breath  as  he  follows  the  round  mass  of  iron  run- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  311 

ning  about  the  arms  and  chest  of  the  performer,  and  thrown 
high  in  the  air  to  fall  heavily  upon  his  massive  neck. 

The  use  of  the  skins  is  now  apparent,  for  as  he  allows 
the  ball  to  come  to  the  floor  after  each  performance,  it 
falls  on  them  with  so  deadened  a  sound  that  those  below 
cannot  be  disturbed  in  the  least. 

We  will  give  a  brief  sketch  of  this  extraordinary- 
character. 

His  real  name  we  never  learned.  He  went  by  two 
aliases,  Wrenchy  and  Saxey ;  as  the  former  is  the  name 
by  which  he  was  more  generally  known,  we  will  use  it 
ourselves.  During  the  Mexican  war  he  went  out  in  Ste- 
phenson's  notorious  New  York  regiment,  which  was  or 
dered  to  California.  After  it  was  disbanded  there,  Wrenchy 
fell  into  the  ranks  of  that  lawless  faction  known  as  the 
Hounds,  which  was  composed  of  the  most  reckless  char 
acters  who  gathered  so  rapidly  in  California  when  the 
gold-fever  spread  through  the  country.  Deserters  from 
merchant-vessels  and  men-of-war  helped  fill  their  ranks, 
in  which  Stephenson's  discharged  volunteers  were  the  mas 
ter  spirits.  These  Hounds  were  led  by  such  men  as  Sam 
Eoberts  and  Jack  Powers,  the  latter  of  whom  is  reported 
to  have  once  hired  ten  men,  at  $  25  a  day,  to  take  three 
wagon-loads  of  specie,  won  by  gambling,  from  the  mines 
down  to  Stockton.  Men  like  Billy  Mulligan  and  Wrenchy 
associated  with  him  as  special  aids.  There  was  a  certain 
picturesqueness  about  this  band,  their  hats  being  adorned 
with  strings  of  beads  and  a  handkerchief,  to  distinguish 
them  from  the  Coyotes,  the  opposing  faction,  which  was 
composed  of  those  determined  to  sustain  the  laws,  and 
protect  the  foreigners,  who  were  chiefly  Chilians  and  Seno- 
rians,  and  whom  the  Hounds  made  the  special  objects  of 
their  persecution. 


312  THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

The  term  Coyotes  was  applied  by  the  Hounds  to  their  op 
ponents  because  the  latter  were  industrious  miners,  always 
burrowing  in  the  ground  like  the  small  prairie-wolf  of  that 
name.  It  acquired  additional  significance  from  the  fact  that 
often  the  lawless  miner  and  the  law-abiding  miner  would 
stake  out  claims  that  joined  on  the  same  lead,  and  then 
while  the  former  would  rest  on  his  pickaxe  the  other  would 
dig  down  to  the  gold,  and  when  there  would  occasionally 
burrow  into  his  lazy  neighbor's  claim,  replacing  ore  with 
dirt.  On  the  other  hand,  the  lawless  fellows  would  often 
wait  till  these  industrious  miners  had  struck  gold,  and  then 
leap  in  and  drive  them  off,  sending  the  contents  of  their 
pistols  after  them  as  they  fled  through  the  camp.  Hence 
the  term  Hounds,  the  chief  occupation  of  the  dog  for  which 
they  were  thus  named  being  to  hunt  down  the  coyote  on 
the  prairies  when  crossing  with  the  trains. 

An  idea  of  the  state  of  society  in  California  at  this  period 
may  be  formed  from  the  fact  that  in  Tuolumne  County, 
with  a  population  of  15,000,  there  were  1,700  murders  in 
one  year,  and  the  only  man  hanged  was  a  man  that  stole  a 
mule  ! 

While  engaged  in  his  lawless  proceedings  as  a  Hound, 
Wrenchy  would  have  lost  his  life  on  one  occasion,  had  it 
not  been  for  the  interposition,  under  circumstances  of  rare 
magnanimity,  of  Julius  Hammond,  who  was  then  acting  as 
sheriff,  and  who  appreciated  what  was  really  good  in  the  man. 

After  running  a  course  of  this  kind  of  life  he  travelled 
with  Winde  &  Provost's  circus  as  the  "  Strong  Man,"  and 
was  famous  as  a  "  cannon-ball  tosser,"  besides  being  a  first- 
rate  acrobat  and  clown. 

The  Eebellion  brought  him  East ;  he  having  enlisted  in 
the  California  Battalion  which  was  attached  to  the  Second 
Massachusetts  Cavalry ;  and  he  is  now  back  again  in  New 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  313 

York,  the  practice  in  which,  we  see  him  at  present  engaged 
indicating  that  he  still  catches  cannon-balls  on  his  neck  to 
put  bread  into  his  stomach,  which  occupation  his  remarka 
ble  constitution  has  enabled  him  to  continue  beyond  the 
age  usually  attained  by  such  men. 

After  changing  awhile  to  two  smaller  balls,  the  gymnast 
returned  to  the  large  one,  and  with  the  cry,  "  Come,  my 
little  mouse !  run !  run !  run ! "  he  commenced  rolling  it 
about  on  his  person  until  it  seemed  alive.  Presently  grasp 
ing  it  in  both  hands  he  gave  it  a  more  than  ordinarily 
strong  toss,  and  bent  his  head  to  receive  it  as  usual  on  his 
neck. 

Just  as  it  was  reaching  its  highest  altitude  the  door 
opened,  and  a  man  with  a  strong,  bear-like  form,  full  black 
beard,  and  green  spectacles  entered. 

He  started  back  in  alarm  as  his  eye  fell  on  the  heavy 
sphere  of  iron  just  beginning  to  descend  upon  the  bended 
neck  of  the  athlete ;  and  when  it  struck  with  its  terrible 
weight  he  could  not  suppress  an  ejaculation. 

The  clown  turned,  and  on  seeing  his  alarmed  visitor 
cried  out  with  a  laugh,  —  "  Hyer*  stranger  !  coming  into 
the  show  as  a  deadhead  ?  Ye  look  scared,  old  hoss !  Con 
science  bad,  eh  ?  Then  I  '11  set  one  of  my  mice  after  ye ! " 

His  mice  were,  as  we  have  seen,  his  cannon-balls. 

As  Wrenchy  thus  addressed  him,  the  visitor  started  in 
alarm,  for  his  conscience  instinctively  made  that  in  earnest 
which  the  athlete  only  meant  in  play. 

That  his  conscience  is  bad  the  reader  will  at  once  appre 
hend  when  we  inform  him  that  this  bearded  stranger  with 
the  green  spectacles  is  none  other  than  the  redoubtable 
Daniel  Garvin,  who  as  we  now  look  at  him  recalls  a  state 
ment  we  heard  some  time  ago,  that  insanity  ran  in  this 

*  Pronounced  Hi-yar'. 
14 


314       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

family  of  bilious  temperament  and  intense  passions.  His 
present  errand,  undertaken  in  so  questionable  a  guise,  has 
certainly  an  insane  tinge  to  it. 

He  has  found  himself  driven  into  a  corner,  and  he 
rushes  hither  and  thither  like  a  wild  animal  who  is  irre 
sistibly  driven  into  an  enclosure  by  converging  fires. 

This  deep-dyed  sinner  realizes  that  the  wicked  have  no 
place  to  stand  upon,  and  when  the  desperate  clutch  which 
they  have  fastened  on  the  object  of  their  criminal  cupidity 
is  threatened,  they  move  their  feet  to  find  no  firm  and  solid 
earth,  —  nothing  but  miry  and  slippery  places. 

The  disconcerted  broker,  the  forces  of  whose  intellect 
have  become  to  a  degree  demoralized,  has  received  news  of 
the  failure  of  the  attempt  to  assassinate  the  Veteran,  and 
like  the  worst  class  of  Southern  Eebels,  who,  after  their 
power  had  been  broken  in  a  fair  fight,  savagely  resorted  to 
the  most  brutal  means  to  continue  their  flagrant  work, 
so  this  unprincipled  man  of  schemes  can  see  no  way 
through  liis  own  iniquitous  business  except  by  a  continu 
ance  of  such  atrocious  instrumentalities  as  he  has  already 
found  himself  compelled  to  use. 

It  did  not  take  the  athlete  long  to  learn  the  object  of 
his  visitor.  He  had  met  such  men  before,  but  he  inwardly 
pronounced  the  broker  the  greatest  scoundrel  of  them  all, 
and  resolved  to  repay  him  for  so  complimentary  a  call, 
which  was  made  under  the  supposition  that  he  was  a  cold 
blooded  hireling.  As  a  man  of  quaint  humor,  also,  he 
perceived  that  game  for  a  little  entertainment  was  here 
offered  him. 

This  singular  being  therefore  met  his  would-be  employer 
in  the  performance  of  a  dastardly  deed  full  half-way,  and 
put  on  such  an  air  that  Satan  himself,  with  all  his  reputed 
shrewdness,  would  have  been  taken  in  were  he  in  Garvin's 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        315 

place.  As  his  visitor  opened  his  business  in  a  manner  as 
cautiously  as  one  would  cut  a  bit  of  steel  from  the  cornea 
of  a  machinist's  eye,  the  clown  lit  up  his  face  with  a  gleam 
of  savage  intelligence,  mingled  with  fear  and  apprehension. 
He  fixed  upon  the  broker  a  look  of  the  most  intense  sus 
picion,  and  cast  his  glance  with  subdued  fierceness  well 
assumed  on  one  of  the  heavy  clubs  near  by.  In  short,  he 
ogled  his  tempter  into  the  self-complacent  idea  that  his 
never-failing  sagacity  had  discovered  in  the  returned  Cali- 
fornian  a  criminal,  on  whose  secret  consciousness  of  guilt 
he  could  work  with  his  usual  subtlety  and  mastery  of  the 
manipulative  art.  The  result  was,  that  in  the  course  of  an 
hour  this  clown  of  the  strong  muscle,  with  a  face  so  simple, 
and  yet  so  shrewd,  was  in  possession  of  the  whole  plot. 

He  also  had  the  name  of  the  intended  victim ;  and  this 
was  where  he  felt  as  if  he  had  nearly  exposed  himself. 
When  the  broker  first  uttered  it,  the  old-time  Hound  and  re 
cent  soldier  gave  a  start  which  caused  a  shade  of  suspicion 
to  pass  over  the  ever- wary  face  of  the  schemer.  Wrenchy 
perceived  this,  and  hastened  to  remove  it.  Frowning  and 
gnashing  his  teeth,  he  exclaimed  in  a  suppressed  but  in 
tensely  vindictive  voice,  — 

"Was  this  Hammond  in  California  in  1849  as  a  sheriff? " 

"  He  was,"  returned  the  broker  with  triumphant  empha 
sis. 

"  Then  may  the  Devil  take  him,  when  I've  done  with 
him  !  You  perhaps  have  heard  of  the  Hounds,  a  fine  set 
of  fellows  in  California  at  that  time  ? " 

"  I  have." 

"  Well ! "  cried  the  "  cannon-ball  tosser,"  in  a  voice  like 
the  rolling  of  distant  thunder,  "  I  was  a  Hound,  and  this 
Hammond  was  a  sheriff ! "  And  he  fixed  on  the  broker  a 
diabolical  look  which  brought  to  the  face  of  the  latter  a 


316  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

gleam  of  secret  exultation.  In  another  moment  the  latter 
was  nodding  with  a  look  of  the  most  infusive  and  sympa 
thetic  villany. 

"  I  see !  I  see ! "  he  said,  showing  his  own  white  teeth 
under  his  false  mustache,  in  a  manner  which  suggested  to 
the  athlete  a  charnel-house  lit  up  by  the  moonlight. 
"  Those  rascally  sheriffs  !  They  were  the  ones  that  ought 
to  have  been  hung  ! " 

Wrenchy  continued  to  chew  his  self-generated  rage,  and 
looked  with  a  furtive  scowl  toward  a  heavy  horse-pistol 
which  helped  adorn  the  side  of  the  loft. 

At  that  moment  the  clock  struck  seven,  and  this  well- 
assumed  villain  sprang  to  his  feet, 'and  turning  slightly 
away,  as  if,  with  the  instinct  of  guilt,  to  conceal  his  watch, 
—  a  gold  one  which  he  had  carried  as  a  keepsake  for  fif 
teen  years,  —  he  exclaimed,  — 

"  Too  many  irons  in  the  fire  spoils  the  whole !  If  I  have 
n't  slipped  up  on  this  other  engagement  I  'm  a  lucky  dog  ! " 
Then  suddenly  lowering  his  voice  almost  to  a  whisper,  he 
said,  "  Be  here  to-morrow  at  this  time,  and "  —  with  a 
knowing  and  ferocious  leer  —  "  we  '11  start  this  job  to  our 
mutual  satisfaction." 

The  broker  departed,  saying  to  himself  with  an  intelli 
gent  nod,  — 

"  That  watch  had  the  snuff  of  blood  about  it.  This  is 
verily  a  most  unconscionable  villain  ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       317 


CHAPTEK    XLI. 

ABOUT  the  time  the  foregoing  visit  was  made  by  the 
broker  to  the  fantastic  apartment  of  the  athlete,  the 
object  of  his  conspiracy  was  closeted  with  Jonas  Cringar. 

The  pen  would  fail  to  convey  an  idea  of  the  emotions 
experienced  by  the  desolate  merchant  when  he  received  in 
formation  from  Billings,  the  book-keeper,  that  the  Veteran 
was  not  dead  as  reported,  but  was  actually  at  that  moment 
moving  with  the  old  indomitable  will  in  the  working  of  his 
plans  to  confound  the  now  desperate  Garvin.  It  seemed 
to  his  reacting  spirit  as  if  the  very  hand  of  Heaven  had 
reached  down  to  direct  the  battle  against  his  Satanic 
tempter. 

The  interveiw  in  question  was  of  a  very  different 
character  from  the  one  we  have  formerly  described,  as  the 
reader  will  readily  imagine.  Jonas  Cringar  greeted  the 
Veteran,  not  with  the  stare  of  consternation  which  was 
then  his  welcome,  but  his  haggard  face  bore  a  look  of  joy 
unutterable.  And  this  joy  was  not  for  himself  alone, 
but  for  those  whom  he  had  so  deeply  wronged ;  for  since 
his  heart  had  been  opened  to  the  Veteran  on  that  first 
visit  he  had  continually  prayed  to  God  that  the  promise 
regarding  the  family  of  Allen  Paige,  which  the  presence  of 
his  visitor  then  awakened  in  his  soul,  might  in  some  provi 
dential  manner  be  fulfilled. 

The  Veteran  gave  an  account  of  the  attempted  assassi 
nation,  and  the  manner  in  which  he  had  secluded  himself 
during  his  recovery ;  and  then  after  speaking  of  the  Paige 
family  (whose  rejoicing  on  once  more  seeing  their  friend 


318       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

alive  was  one  of  those  scenes  which  brightened  a  life  that 
had  seen  many  shadows),  and  the  ominous  disappearance 
of  Prescott  Marland,  he  came  to  the  subject  of  the  forgery. 
He  told  Cringar  of  the  visit  to  the  studio  of  William  Gar- 
vin  for  the  purpose  we  have  previously  mentioned. 

"  It  is  very  sad !  "  uttered  the  merchant,  while  the  look 
of  wearing  pain  on  his  features  increased  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  indicate  the  direction  of  his  thoughts.  "  How  much 
does  one  reckless  act  cost !  A  son  against  a  father !  Gen 
eral,  if  this  unhappy  young  man  accomplishes  the  object  you 
have  assigned  him  he  secures  his  own  father's  downfall ! " 

"  It  is  not  pleasant  to  think  of,"  said  the  Veteran  with 
deep  feeling.  "More  especially  has  it  become  painful 
since  his  interview  with  me  last  evening.  He  came  to  me 
and  wept  as  he  told  me  of  the  trial  which  his  heart  had 
experienced,  since  he  consented  to  undertake  the  recovery 
of  that  forgery.  I  could  see  that  it  was  in  danger  of  driv 
ing  him  mad,  and  I  am  informed  that  madness  runs 
somewhat  in  that  blood." 

"  My  God ! "  ejaculated  the  merchant  under  his  breath 
as  he  recalled  the  broker's  appearance  that  night  when 
Simple  Sal's  laugh  burst  upon  them,  "  I  think  it  does  ! " 

"He  told  me,"  continued  the  Veteran,  "that  he  had 
wrought  himself  up  to  an  attempt  night  -before  last,  but 
the  Laocoon  so  distracted  his  mind  that  he  was  utterly  un 
fitted  for  the  work." 

"  The  Laocoon  ! "  exclaimed  Cringar  in  astonishment. 

"  Yes.  He  said  that  with  his  mind  strung  to  the  work 
ing-point,  but  still  in  despair  at  the  very  thought  that  he 
must  do  it,  he  was  passing  down  Broadway,  and  thinking 
to  find  a  little  relief  from  a  distraction  which  was  little 
short  of  craziness,  he  entered  an  art  store  to  view  the 
works  there  on  exhibition.  Nothing  could  fix  his  attention. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       319 

All  seemed  in  a  whirl.  Presently  lie  came  to  a  small  copy 
of  the  Laocoon  in  alabaster.  This  commanded  more  of 
his  attention,  for  the  agony  which  the  ancient  sculptor 
has  depicted  with  such  power  was  to  him  a  reflex  of  his 
own  internal  state.  He  said  it  held  him  as  by  fascination, 
and  he  seemed  to  exult  in  measuring  his  own  torments 
with  theirs.  But  erelong  the  group  was  changed,  to  him, 
into  a  terrible  vision.  The  two  sons  became  as  mist  be 
fore  his  eyes,  and  the  father  alone  riveted  his  gaze.  The 
awful  agony  and  anguish  which  is  expressed  in  the  face 
and  throughout  the  entire  body  held  him  in  a  trance  of 
stupefied  horror,  for  he  had  suddenly  seen  that  struggling 
priest  of  Neptune  transformed  into  his  own  father,  and 
himself  he  saw  in  the  dread  serpent  whose  fangs,  charged 
to  his  frenzied  mind  with  venom,  were  fastened  in  the  pal 
pitating  side  !  He  felt  himself  rooted  to  the  floor,  and  his 
soul  cried  out  to  him,  as  if  it  were  another  being  separate 
from  himself,  '  The  fangs  of  the  son  are  prepared  for  the 
father  !  Let  him  strike  and  see  his  father  die  ! '  Then  he 
said  the  statue  and  the  serpent  seemed  to  live,  and  he  wit 
nessed  as  a  reality  the  dying  struggles  of  the  one,  while 
the  skin  of  the  other  swelled  and  quivered,  and  its  eyes 
shot  forth  flames,  as  the  folds  tightened  about  its  victim, 
and  its  jaws,  with  their  deadly  fangs,  closed  deeper  and 
deeper  into  the  purpling  flesh.  Then  everything  swam, 
and  he  knew  no  more  till  he  found  himself  lying  on  a 
couch  with  a  group  of  persons  around  him,  from  whom  he 
learned  that  he  had  fainted." 

"  This  is  indeed  terrible ! "  exclaimed  the  merchant, 
through  whom  there  shot  a  pang  of  remorse  wellnigh  as 
overwhelming  as  the  anguish  described  by  the  wretched 
young  artist. 

"  So  terrible,"  said  the  Veteran,  "  that  I  could  not  do 


320       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

otherwise  than  tell  him  that  he  should  be  released  from 
the  unnatural  office,  —  for  the  present,  at  least,  —  and  I 
would,  if  possible,  study  up  some  other  means  of  accom 
plishing  the  object." 

"  And  this  made  him  happy  ! " 

"  I  cannot  say  so  much  as  that,"  returned  the  Veteran, 
thoughtfully.  "  He  seemed  distressed  by  an  internal  con 
flict.  He  knows  that  those  whom  he  deeply  esteems  are 
in  their  turn  suffering  from  the  fangs  of  their  unnatural 
relative,  and  will  continue  to  suffer  till  the  power  which 
he  obtained  by  treachery  shall  have  been  taken  from 
him." 

The  merchant  now  became  absorbed  in  the  most  gloomy 
thoughts,  and  the  Veteran  took  his  leave,  after  a  few  kindly 
words,  which  the  former  responded  to  without  seeming  to 
understand. 

That  evening  the  Veteran  sat  in  his  room,  meditating  on 
the  interview  with  William  Garvin  which  he  had  described 
to  the  merchant,  and  turning  over  in  his  mind  one  expe 
dient  after  another  by  which  he  might  attain  his  end  with 
out  the  aid  of  this  miserable  son  of  the  guilty  broker. 

While  in  the  midst  of  these  meditations  a  rap  sounded 
on  his  door.  He  opened  it  and  Wrenchy  stood  before  him  ! 

They  recognized  each  other  at  once,  and  their  greeting 
was  a  hearty  one.  Especially  was  this  the  case  with  the 
gymnast,  who  ever  remembered  the  Veteran  with  gratitude 
for  saving  his  life. 

After  a  little  introductory  talk  about  the  old  times, 
Wrenchy  entered  at  once  on  the  business  for  which  he  had 
called,  with  an  account  of  the  extraordinary  visit  made 
him  that  evening  by  the  man  with  the  black  beard  and 
green  spectacles.  His  description  was  close,  and  the  ready 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  321 

mind  of  the  Veteran  found  no  difficulty  in  identifying  this 
strange  and  sinister  visitor. 

"  When  he  came  to  your  name  I  was  pretty  nigh  spoil 
ing  the  whole  thing,"  said  the  clown.  "  But  I  caught  my 
balance,  and  gave  him  such  a  taste  of  the  diabolical  that  he 
saw  you  pinned  right  there  before  his  black  devil's  eyes  !  " 

"  You  are  to  meet  him  again  to-morrow  ? " 

"Yes." 

The  Veteran's  brows  were  for  a  moment  contracted  in 
thought,  and  then  a  smile  that  was  scarcely  perceptible 
stole  over  his  face. 

"Wrenchy,"  said  he,  "do  you  think  you  could  handle 
your  fingers  with  your  former  skill  ? " 

By  one  of  those  apparent  anomalies  of  nature  this 
"strong  man,"  who  tossed  cannon-balls  so  easily  that  he 
called  them  his  "mice,"  was  wonderfully  expert  in  the 
manipulation  of  minute  objects. 

"  Quien  sabe  ?  "  he  laughed,  mixing  his  dialect  as  he  and 
the  Veteran  were  wont  to  do  in 'California,— "Who  know?" 
Then  he  added,  "  If  you  will  stand  up  a  moment,  I  will 
show  you." 

The  Veteran  stood  up. 

"  Now,"  said  the  ex-ffound,  "  the  day  was  when  I  could 
engage  a  man's  attention  and  then  show  him  this." 

The  Veteran  looked  casually  down  at  the  other's  extended 
palm,  and  to  his  astonishment  he  saw  his  watch  therein. 

"  1 11  put  it  back,"  said  Wrenchy  ;  and  he  proceeded  to 
attach  it  to  the  chain  and  replace  it  in  the  fob.  "  Hyer  !  " 
he  exclaimed,  and  making  a  pretence  of  stooping  for  it,  he 
presented  the  Veteran  with  his  memorandum-book. 

"A  truce  ! "  cried  the  latter,  laughing.  "  If  my  eyes  ever 
trouble  me  I  '11  get  you  to  take  them  out !  But  for  the 
time  being  I  '11  keep  them  to  look  upon  a  document  which 

14*  U 


322  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 

I  believe,  with  your  skill,  you  can  obtain  as  readily  as  you 
just  now  obtained  my  memorandum-book."  And  there 
upon  he  proceeded  to  enlighten  the  athlete  as  to  the  object 
of  the  question  which  caused  his  remarkable  display  of  the 
sleight-of-hand  talent.  This  object  was  to  engage  him  in 
a  plan  for  the  recovery  of  the  forgery  and  the  release  of 
William  Garvin. 

The  gymnast  gave  emphatic  approval.  It  was  a  work 
that  pleased  him.  His  honest  course  of  life  for  several 
years  past  had  afforded  him  no  opportunity  for  the  actual 
use  of  his  accomplishments  in  this  direction,  though  he 
had  from  habit  and  taste  kept  up  his  skill,  occasionally  de 
lighting  a  circle  of  friends  by  tricks  of  magic,  in  which  he 
excelled,  and  which  to  see  this  Hercules  perform  was  like 
witnessing  the  exquisitely  finished  boxing  of  the  grizzly 
bear. 

"  For  once  we  can  give  the  ( cly-faker '  profession  a  touch 
of  honesty,"  he  said  with  a  broad  grin. 

The  Veteran  experienced  a  deep  feeling  of  relief  when 
he  thought  of  the  load  that  would  be  taken,  from  the  suf 
fering  heart  of  William  Garvin,  if  his  object  could  thus  be 
accomplished  through  the  very  instrumentality  which  the 
broker  would  make  use  of  for  his  own  heinous  ends,  thus 
doing  his  work  through  the  laws  of  retribution. 


CHAPTER    XLII. 

ON"  the  following  day  the  disguised  broker  again  ap 
peared  at  the  apartment  of  the  gymnast,  according  to 
appointment.     He  was  received  by  that  odd  genius  in  the 
fantastic  suit  of  a  clown.     The  latter  did  not  take  up  much 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       323 

time  in  preliminaries  on  this  occasion,  but  at  once  pro 
ceeded  to  call  the  attention  of  his  would-be  employer  to 
the  lasso  which  hung  festooned  upon  the  wall. 

The*  eyes  of  the  latter  glistened  under  his  green  specta 
cles.  This  thong  of  raw-hide  in  the  hands  of  the  "  cannon- 
ball  tosser  "  and  around  the  neck  of  the  man  who  stood  so 
stubbornly  in  his  way  would  be  absolutely  certain  to  give 
that  man  his  quietus  without  noise  or  confusion.  His 
power  would  avail  him  nothing  with  this  about  his  throat. 

Wrenchy  watched  him  with  an  expression  of  grim  hu 
mor,  which  the  broker  mistook  for  suppressed  exultation  at 
the  thought  of  this  opportunity  for  vengeance. 

"Are  you  dead  sure  of  your  mark?"  asked  the  spectacled 
Garvin,  while  his  mouth  seemed  to  water  as  his  teeth 
slightly  appeared  through  his  false  mustache. 

The  clown,  who  at  one  time  was  known  in  California  as 
a  vaquero  (herdsman),  silently  took  the  lasso  from  the  wall. 

"  Esta  paso"  *  he  said ;  and  with  a  smile  which  the  broker 
still  interpreted  as  the  smile  of  anticipated  triumph  over 
his  old  enemy,  he  put  the  coil  on  his  left  arm  and  pro 
ceeded  to  unwind  it  to  a  sufficient  length  for  present  use. 
Then  with  a  quick  movement  the  noose  flew  in  the  air  and 
a  large  empty  box,  that  was  standing  upright  in  one  corner 
of  the  loft,  was  drawn  toward  him. 

"  Bravo  ! "  cried  the  bearded  spectator.  "  Are  you  as 
sure  of  a  man  ? " 

"  Hyer  !  vm  corrajo  vejez  estafado  !  "  •}•  returned  the 
clown ;  and  having  released  the  box,  the  lasso  was  the 
next  instant  flying  through  the  room  toward  the  broker's 
head,  and  before  he  could  so  much  as  move  his  tongue  he 
found  himself  bound  to  his  chair  a  helpless  prisoner. 

"  Ha,  ha  !  Hyer  ! "  laughed  the  acrobatic  clown  turning 

*  This  way.  t  "  Here  !  you  cussed  old  sharper !  " 


324  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  AKMY. 

a  double  somersault,  while  the  simple  expression  on  his 
countenance,  of  which  we  have  before  spoken,  assumed  a 
look  of  the  most  innocent  glee.  "  How  is  that  for  man, 
beast,  or  devil  ?  I  care  not  for  the  word  ! " 

The  broker  neither  enjoyed  the  fun  of  being  lassoed,  nor 
did  he  relish  the  sportive  language  which  the  eccentric 
gymnast  seemed  to  apply  to  him  in  English,  taking  aside 
the  Mexican  dialect,  which  was  Greek  to  him.  He  tried 
to  put  a  good  face  on  the  matter,  however. 

"  A  very  good  illustration,"  he  said  with  a  forced  laugh, 
while  he  bit  his  lips  with  vexation;  "a  very  convincing 
illustration  indeed  ! "  At  the  same  time  he  winced  under 
the  tightening  lasso. 

With  another  laugh  of  what  seemed  simple  and  mis 
chievous  glee,  Wrenchy  cried,  "  Now  for  it ! "  and  with  a 
sudden  pull  down  came  broker  and  chair  with  a  crash. 
"  Heigh-ho  !  master ! "  he  exclaimed,  rushing  to  the  aid  of 
his  sprawling  victim;  "this  old  clown  has  carried  the 
joke  too  far !  He  forgot  himself,  and  mistook  you  for  a 
'  greaser ' ! "  and  grasping  the  prostrate  Garvin  he  tumbled 
him  about  in  rude  apparent  efforts  to  right  him,  until  the 
discomforted  plotter  cursed  the  clumsy  fellow  from  the 
bottom  of  his  soul.  Then  seizing  the  hat  which  rolled  off 
on  the  floor  when  its  owner  fell,  Wrenchy  put  it  on  the 
broker's  head  and,  with  a  stroke  he  had  learned  years  be 
fore  on  the  Bowery,  he  knocked  it  over  his  eyes,  sending 
the  green  spectacles  down  over  the  end  of  his  nose. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha ! "  once  more  laughed  the  irreverant  acrobat. 
"  You  must  be  the  Evil  One  himself  to  put  this  clumsiness 
into  old  Wrenchy !  His  skilful  hands  are  turned  to  the 
paws  of  a  lout!" 

Finally  he  succeeded  in  raising  his  dupe,  who  ventured 
only  to  mutter  his  curses  between  his  teeth,  while  he  re 
adjusted  his  spectacles  and  clothing. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        325 

"  You  perceive,  master,"  said  the  clown  with  a  grin,  that 
this  bit  of  raw-hide  is  sure.  I  will  explain  its  peculiarities. 
You  will  see  that  it  is  plaited,  and  rendered  elastic  by 
greasing,  which  makes  it  as  soft  and  pliable  as  silk. 
'T  is  a  very  remarkable  piece  of  ingenuity,  sir,  if  you 
will  please  examine  it." 

"  I  Ve  tested  it  very  well,  my  good  fellow,  very  well  in 
deed,"  replied  the  broker  with  a  painfully  responsive  grin, 
still  inwardly  boiling  with  rage  at  the  treatment  he  had 
endured.  "I  haven't  time  for  a  particular  examination. 
You  can  let  your  old  California  friend  attend  to  that,  and 
assist  him  by  starting  his  eyes  out  a  little." 

The  gymnast  could  scarcely  refrain  from  compelling  this 
murderous  broker's  own  eyes  to  start  out  by  a  compression 
of  his  windpipe  in  his  powerful  fingers,  as  he  uttered  this 
fiendish  remark.  But  he  carried  out  the  part  he  had  as 
signed  himself,  and  his  designing  visitor  at  length  departed, 
rubbing  his  ugly  hands  with  self-congratulation,  though 
mingled  with  this  self-congratulation  was  an  inward  trem 
bling,  arising  from  a  consciousness  of  guilt  which  one 
attempt  at  assassination  had  not  been  quite  able  to  harden 

him  to. 

***** 

On  the  night  of  the  second  interview  between  the  broker 
and  his  fancied  hireling,  which  we  have  just  transcribed, 
William  Garvin  sat  in  his  room,  hour  after  hour,  a  victim 
of  the  most  conflicting  and  disturbing  thoughts.  It  was, 
in  fact,  a  state  of  mind  but  little  short  of  frenzy. 

The  reader  has  already  been  informed,  in  the  account 
given  by  the  Veteran  to  Jonas  Cringar,  of  the  terrible  ex 
perience  through  which  the  distracted  young  artist  had 
passed  since  his  visit  to  his  studio.  After  the  interview 
referred  to  by  the  former,  which  resulted  in  his  releasing 


326       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

the  broker's  son  for  the  time  being,  the  sufferings  of  this 
miserable  youth  rather  increased  than  diminished.  He  felt 
himself  compelled  to  act  upon  his  own  responsibility  ;  and 
the  very  claims  of  justice  which  had  compelled  the  Veteran 
to  assign  him  a  part  so  repugnant  to  his  feelings  now  ap 
pealed  with  direct  force  to  his  heart. 

He  saw  the  family  to  which  for  so  many  years  he  had 
seemed  but  little  less  than  a  son  suffering  from  wrongs 
perpetrated  by  his  own  father.  He  saw  her  by  whom  his 
life  had  been  so  absorbed  living  in  penury  and  want.  He 
saw  them  all,  in  his  mind's  eye,  in  the  attitude  of  pleading, 
and  he  heard  them  in  imagination  praying  him  to  perform 
that  act  which  the  man,  whose  word  he  dreamed  not 
of  doubting,  had  told  him  would  secure  the  restoration 
of  their  property,  and  relief  from  their  present  state  of 
destitution. 

So  his  mind  surged  from  side  to  side  till  it  was  nearly 
prostrated  by  its  tumultuous  unrest.  If  he  performed  the 
act,  his  father  would  be  given  by  his  hands  into  the  power 
of  his  foes,  and  probably  over  to  destruction.  If  he  did 
not  do  it,  the  family  in  which  was  the  object  of  his  wild 
idolatry  might  remain  in  misery  forever.  With  the  insight 
we  have  given  the  reader  into  the  mental  character  and 
morbid  condition  of  this  young  man,  he  can  readily  com 
prehend  the  state  in  which  we  now  find  him,  after  two 
days  and  nights  of  such  internal  conflict. 

In  the  afternoon  his  mind  had  surged  toward  the  execu 
tion  of  the  deed,  the  ever-present  vision  of  Emma  and  her 
family,  in  which  the  majestic  but  to  him  now  sorrowful 
figure  of  the  Veteran  appeared,  proving  a  stronger  influence 
than  the  picture  of  a  guilty  father's  retribution ;  and  not 
far  from  the  very  hour  in  which  that  parent  was  engaged 
in  hiring  a  supposed  assassin  to  do  murder,  this  struggling 
son  had  finally  resolved  to  secure  the  forgery. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  327 

His  plan  was  to  abstract  the  forged  paper  from  the  bro 
ker's  pocket-book  while  he  was  asleep.  To  insure  that 
sleep,  —  for  he  paled  and  trembled  at  the  thought  of  the 
slumberer  awaking  while  he  was  engaged  in  the  contem 
plated  act,  —  he  determined  to  administer  a  sleeping-potion 
by  means  of  the  tea  which  his  father  was  sure  to  drink  in 
the  evening.  Having  often  been  obliged  to  take  somnific 
drugs  to  secure  sleep  himself,  he  had  carried  out  this  part 
of  his  design  with  but  little  difficulty. 

But  now  as  he  sat  in  his  room  after  the  father  had  re 
tired,  he  was  again  compelled  to  undergo  an  internal  con 
flict  ;  for  the  strain  on  his  overwrought  mind,  from  the  effort 
already  made  toward  the  accomplishment  of  his  object,  had 
been  followed  by  a  reaction  ;  and  for  a  while  he  was  again 
threatened  with  prostration  and  utter  inability  to  carry  out 
what  he  had  now  begun.  Again  his  mind  surged  to  and 
fro,  and  in  his  mental  anguish  he  was  ready  to  cry  out,  — 

"  Great  Power  of  Heaven  !  take  me  hence  ! " 

It  was  considerably  after  midnight  when  once  more  that 
desperate  resolve  took  possession  of  his  spirit,  and  with  a 
wild  start  he  hastened  to  his  cfoor,  opened  it  convulsively, 
and  stole  swiftly  toward  his  father's  chamber,  carrying  in 
his  left  hand  a  small  metal  lamp. 

He  reached  forth  his  right  hand  to  turn  the  knob,  when 
to  his  dismay  quick,  heavy  footsteps  were  heard  within, 
and  the  door  opened. 

Confronting  him  was  the  livid,  furious  face  of  the  broker. 

Seizing  his  son  by  the  throat  he  bent  this  face  down  to 
his,  and  exclaimed  in  a  hissing  voice,  — 

"  Vile  thief  and  burglar  !  what  have  you  stolen  from  my 
pocket-book  ? " 

"  Nothing  !  before  God,  nothing ! "  shrieked  the  son, 
overcome  with  mortal  terror. 


328  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Nothing  !  you  dauber  of  canvas  !  You  lie  ! "  cried  the 
foaming  broker,  shaking  the  young  artist  till  the  lamp  fell 
extinguished  from  his  hand,  and  it  seemed  as  though  with 
this  rough  usage  and  his  own  terror  he  must  drop  lifeless 
to  the  floor. 

"  O  no,  no ! "  again  shrieked  the  gasping  youth.  "  I 
swear !  I  swear !  0  father !  I  swear  ! " 

"As  that  damnable  Cringar  swore,  you  chattering  cat 
bird  ! "  And  at  thoughts  of  Cringar  and  the  Veteran  Daniel 
Garvin  shook  his  son  still  more  violently.  "Swear,  you 
young  imp  !  I  '11  teach  you  to  utter  oaths  that  '11  burst 
your  windpipe  ! "  William's  throat  now  began  to  gurgle. 
"  The  paper !  "  yelled  the  broker  like  a  madman.  "  If  you 
don't  give  it  up  right  here  on  this  spot,  and  instantly,  I  '11 
kiU  you!" 

At  that  moment  the  commotion  of  alarmed  servants 
above  served  to  bring  the  furious  man  to  a  consciousness  of 
what  he  was  doing.  Eelaxing  his  hold  from  his  son's 
throat,  he  grasped  him  by  the  collar  and,  dragging  him  into 
the  chamber,  he  slammed  to  the  door. 

The  young  artist  now  fell"  on  his  knees  and  declared  in 
the  most  piteous  and  heart-rending  tones  that  he  had  not 
taken  the  paper. 

"  Why  were  you  at  my  door  at  this  time  of  night  ? "  de 
manded  the  father  in  a  voice  that  was  still  filled  with 
rage. 

"You  —  you  looked  sick  and  wretched  at  supper,  and  I 
could  not  go  to  bed  for  thinking  of  you,  and  I  came  to  see 
if  you  slept ! "  uttered  the  trembling  youth  with  a  readi 
ness  which  fright  often  imparts. 

William  Garvin  was  not  given  to  uttering  lies,  and  this 
one  caused  a  blush  of  shame  to  tinge  the  deadly  pallor 
of  his  cheeks. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY.  329 

For  an  instant  the  broker  continued  to  fix  his  blazing 
eye  on  his  son,  and  then  suddenly  his  features,  which  had 
begun  slightly  to  relax,  once 'more  grew  black,  contorted 
by  an  expression  in  which  impotent  fury  and  startled  fear 
were  darkly  mingled.  Opening  the  door  he  flung  the  youth 
from  the  room,  and  then  again  closing  it  with  a  loud  slam 
he  turned  the  key,  and  commenced  pacing  the  floor  with 
strides  that  even  surpassed  those  with  which  he  started  for 
Jonas  Cringar,  after  the  information  given  him  by  Baling 
at  the  Fulton  Ferry. 

"  The  cannon-ball  clown ! "  he  hissed  between  his  grind 
ing  teeth.  "  Duped  !  Daniel  Garvin  duped !  Duped  by  a 
clown !  Lassoed  like  a  mule,  and  robbed  like  a  fool !  —  A 
rhyme,  Daniel  Garvin !  You  've  made  a  rhyme !  Go  to 
work  and  write  poetry  for  monuments,  and  first  see  to  it 
that  your  own  epitaph  is  written ! " 

The  last  of  this  speech  was  uttered  with  a  bitter  laugh, 
and  one  is  startled  by  its  strangeness. 

The  furious  schemer's  large  pocket-book  lying  open  on 
the  stand  by  the  bed  suggests  the  cause  of  this  remarkable 
demonstration. 

The  sleeping-potion  which  William  had  prepared  for  his 
father  might  have  proved  sufficienly  strong  for  himself,  but 
its  effect  on  an  organization  so  powerful  as  the  broker's, 
more  than  usually  excited  as  it  was  by  his  recent  interview 
with  the  athlete,  was  of  short  duration. 

Not  long  before  the  young  artist  grasped  his  lamp  in  the 
desperate  resolution  to  finish  the  work  he  had  begun, 
Daniel  Garvin,  who  had  thrown  himself  undressed  on  his 
bed,  awoke  with  a  violent  headache,  and  troublesome 
thoughts  began  to  sweep  through  his  mind,  as  was  now 
usual  with  him  at  the  dead  of  night. 

He  thought  of  the  Veteran,  and  his  face  lit  up  with  ex- 


330       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

ultation  as  lie  ruminated  on  the  sure  vengeance  which 
would  now  be  visited  on  his  enemy  through  the  athlete 
and  his  lasso.  Then  he  passed  to  the  merchant,  and  his 
heart  gloated  over  the  retribution  he  intended  for  this  man, 
whom  he  hated  with  all  the  intensity  of  his  brooding  na 
ture  for  the  traitorous  part  he  felt  certain  he  had  acted 
against  him. 

While  in  the  midst  of  his  revengeful  pictures  he  rose 
and  sat  on  the  side  of  his  bed.  His  lamp  still  burned, 
and  he  drew  forth  his  pocket-book  —  now  a  frequent  habit 
with  him  —  to  feast  his  eyes  on  the  evidence  by  which 
at  any  moment  he  could  tumble  the  merchant  into  the 
abyss  of  irretrievable  ruin. 

"  Strange ! "  he  muttered,  as  he  opened  the  wallet,  to 
find  the  forgery  missing  from  the  place  in  which  he  usu 
ally  carried  it.  "  It  is  not  easy  for  Daniel  Garvin  to  con 
fess  it,  even  to  Daniel  Garvin,  but  truly  his  head  is  not  so 
-clear  of  late.  I  like  not  this  confusion,"  he  added,  tapping 
his  forehead.  "  The  time  was  when  Daniel  Garvin  could 
put  his  papers  away  twenty  years  running,  if  necessary, 
and  never  in  the  wrong  place ;  but  there  seems  to  be  a  little 
trouble  here." 

With  this  he  commenced  nervously  searching  for  the 
missing  forgery  among  his  other  papers.  But  it  was  no 
where  to  be  found ! 

"  I  Ve  been  plundered ! "  he  exclaimed  in  a  suppressed 
voice  of  rage  and  consternation,  and  throwing  the  pocket- 
book  upon  the  stand  he  leaped  to  his  feet. 

At  that  instant  his  ears  caught  the  sound  of  creeping 
feet  outside ;  in  another  moment  he  was  at  the  door,  and 
then  ensued  the  scene  we  have  described. 

Throughout  the  remainder  of  that  night  sleep  visited 
neither  the  lids  of  the  father  nor  son. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       331 


CHAPTER    XLIII. 

ONCE  more  to  the  old  house  on  Vandam  Street. 
We  have  spoken  of  the  joy  with  which  the  sorrow 
ing  family  of  Allen  Paige  had  greeted  that  noble  friend, 
whom  they  supposed  had  been  murdered.  On  the  evening 
following  the  night  of  Prescott  Marland's  escape  from  the 
mad-house  they  sat  talking  of  this  friend  with  a  gratitude 
and  an  affection  which  only  such  devotion  as  he,  a  com 
parative  stranger,  had  displayed  in  their  behalf  could 
command. 

"  Do  you  observe,  mother,"  said  Emma  with  much  feeling, 
"  how  pale  he  is  ?  I  fear  his  anxiety  for  us  has  led  him  to 
forget  himself  in  so  soon  recommencing  his  arduous  labors 
for  us." 

"  I  have  observed  it,"  responded  the  mother,  sadly.  "  And 
it  grieves  me.  I  spoke  to  him  yesterday,  and  admonished 
him  to  think  more  of  his  own  welfare,  but  he  answered 
me  in  such  a  manner  that  I  could  say  nothing  more.  One 
feels  in  his  presence  as  if  he  knew  what  was  best,  and  so 
must  needs  leave  him  to  act  according  to  a  judgment 
which  seems  beyond  questioning.  He  appears  very  anxious 
about  Prescott,  whom  he  evidently  loves  as  we  all  do." 

A  blush  tinged  Emma's  cheek ;  and  then  tears  filled  her 
eyes.  Mrs.  Paige  observed  this  emotion,  and  with  a  moth 
er's  sympathy  was  about  to  change  the  subject  of  conver 
sation,  when  a  well-known  knock  at  the  door  announced  a 
visit  from  the  one  of  whom  they  had  been  speaking. 

With  the  words  we  have  "heard  uttered  by  Mrs.  Paige 
and  her  daughter  regarding  the  appearance  of  this  soldier 


332       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

so  fraternally  devoted  to  the  interests  of  a  comrade's  family, 
one  is  struck  by  the  paleness  of  his  massive  face.  It  is 
evident  that  anxiety  for  others  has  caused  him,  after  the 
confinement  from  his  wound,  to  venture  prematurely  on 
those  labors  which  demand  so  great  an  exertion  of  the 
mind  and  will. 

But  the  observer  almost  immediately  forgets  this  appear 
ance  of  illness  in  an  expression  of  suppressed  joy,  which 
beams  from  his  deep  gray  eye,  and  pervades  his  strong, 
benignant  features.  He  himself  sees  that  this  expression 
has  attracted  the  attention  of  those  who  now  greet  him, 
and  he  hastens  to  say,  — 

"  My  friends,  I  have  to  inform  you  that  one  great  source 
of  power  held  heretofore  by  Daniel  Garvin  has  been  taken 
from  him ;  and  I  am  now  able  to  tell  you  that  the  pros 
pect  of  the  restitution  of  your  rights  is  very  favorable." 

This  did  not  seem  to  explain  that  emotion  which  still  lit 
up  his  countenance. 

His  gaze  now  fell  on  Emma's  face,  and  he  observed  the 
tears  still  standing  in  her  saddened  eyes.  A  look  of  inex 
pressible  tenderness  overspread  his  features. 

"  Perhaps  we  shall  have  a  visitor  soon,"  he  said  in  a  gen 
tle  voice. 

Through  Emma's  tears  there  instantly  appeared  a  light 
which  brought  to  the  countenance  of  the  Veteran  a  smile 
so  kind  and  yet  so  grave,  that,  while  a  blush  again  height 
ened  the  color  of  the  fair  girl's  cheek,  she  was  strangely 
moved,  as  if  the  presence  of  her  father  accompanied  this 
apparently  Heaven-appointed  friend. 

At  that  moment  another  knock  was  heard  at  the  door. 

Emma  partly  started  from  her  chair  to  answer  it,  but  as 
Albert  hastened  to  do  this  she  gave  a  quick  glance  at  the 
Veteran,  and  sank  back  trembling  in  her  seat  while  the 
tell-tale  crimson  mounted  to  her  cheeks. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  333 

Albert  opened  the  door,  and  Prescott  Marland  crossed 
the  threshold,  and  stood  before  them,  that  handsome,  gen 
erous  face,  though  pale  and  thin  by  his  incarceration,  still 
beaming  with  the  old  hope-inspiring  smile. 

The  greeting  which  now  followed  caused  the  young 
Lieutenant  to  declare  to  himself  that  for  a  repetition  of  it 
he  would  willingly  endure  another  imprisonment  like  that 
from  which  he  had  just  escaped. 

That  day  the  Veteran  had  told  him  of  the  success  which 
had  attended  the  mission  of  the  gymnast, — who,  it  is  need 
less  to  inform  the  reader,  had  abstracted  the  forgery  when 
he  gave  the  broker  such  a  rude  handling,  and  knocked  his 
hat  over  his  eyes,  while  he  was  sprawled  on  the  floor,  — 
and  as  he  took  Emma's  hand  he  experienced  in  his  hope  a 
thrill  of  delight  which  he  did  not  care  entirely  to  suppress, 
as  he  looked  into  her  eyes  and  thought  of  the  possibility 
of  being  permitted  erelong  to  throw  off  the  bonds  which 
for  so  many  months  had  restrained  him,  and  declare  with 
alLthe  fervor  he  then  felt  the  deep,  strong  love  which  trial 
had  but  served  to  render  even  tenfold  more  ardent  than  it 
was  the  day  he  was  surprised  gazing  on  the  sunset  picture. 

Mingled  with  Emma's  joy  was  a  feeling  of  pain,  as  she 
beheld  his  features  so  thin  and  pale ;  and  the  indignation 
of  both  herself  and  the  rest  of  the  family  may  well  be 
imagined,  as  they  listened  to  the  story  of  the  manner  in 
which  he  had  been  entrapped  and  held  in  worse  than  soli 
tary  confinement.  When,  however,  he  came  to  the  de 
scription  of  his  escape  through  the  ingenuity  of  the  in 
ventor,  and  told  them  of  his  adventure  in  Dr.  Pennell's 
private  office,  their  countenances  were  expressive  of  lively 
enjoyment. 

Their  sympathies  were  strongly  excited  toward  the  poor 
mad  corporal  with  whom  he  had  been  incarcerated. 


334       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"It  is  the  height  of  cruelty  to  confine  even  the  most 
dangerous  victim  of  insanity  in  such  a  cell  as  that ! "  ex 
claimed  Mrs.  Paige. 

"  Do  not  fear  but  that  the  cruelty  and  the  rascality,  in 
New  York  at  least,  of  that  sweet  villain  of  a  mad-house  doc 
tor  will  come  to  a  speedy  termination,"  said  Prescott,  with 
a  voice  of  decision.  "  My  raid  on  his  private  office  was  a 
very  successful  one,  as  both  he  and  Garvin  will  find  out  to 
their  cost,  besides  a  few  others  who  have  used  this  mad 
house  for  their  infamous  purposes  ! " 

But  he  had  another  pleasant  surprise  in  store  for  them, 
in  the  report  he  had  to  render  of  the  Deering  family. 

Nothing  could  have  more  effectually  served  to  call  forth 
a  display  of  the  goodness  of  this  family  of  Allen  Paige 
than  the  young  Lieutenant's  recital  of  what  had  been  told 
him  by  Charles  Eoberts.  They  forgot  the  hopes  for  them 
selves,  which  tha  Veteran  and  Prescott  had  inspired,  in  lis 
tening  to  the  story  of  those  unfortunate  ones,  compared  to 
whose  sufferings  their  own  seemed  to  them  as  naught.  The 
account  of  their  discovery,  after  a  long  and  seemingly  hope 
less  search,  by  a  comrade  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the  Kepublic, 
and  of  their  immediate  relief  by  the  Post,  called  forth  such 
expressions  as  would  have  made  the  heart  of  the  comrade 
who  reads  this  thrill  with  pleasure,  had  he  been  there  to 
hear  them. 

The  two  members  of  the  G.  A.  E.  who  were  then  in  their 
presence  forgot  all  else  for  the  moment,  as  they  listened  to 
the  words  of  blessing  poured  out  on  their  Order  by  those 
who  in  their  prosperity  had  undertaken  the  same  office 
which  had  devolved  on  the  Grand  Army. 

"  I  have  never  felt  so  proud  of  our  organization  as  I  do 
at  this  moment!"  said  the  Veteran.  "I  would  that  all 
loyal  citizens  might  hear  you ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       335 

"  We  are  not  worthy  such  attention  from  all  l<jyal  citi 
zens,"  replied  Mrs.  Paige.  "  But  there  is  one  I  have  recently 
heard  of  who  is." 

"  Who  is  that  ? "  asked  Prescott,  with  interest. 

"  A  lady  in  Salem,  Massachusetts,  who,  when  suffering 
so  much  from  disease  that  she  was  obliged  to  lie  day  after 
day  in  one  position  without  being  moved,  held  up  her 
hands  and  knit  stockings  for  the  soldiers  who  were  fighting 
for  her  country."  • 

"  And  does  she  still  live  ? "  asked  the  Veteran. 

"  She  does ;  and  is  the  same  devoted  friend  of  the  soldier." 

"  Then  let  the  united  prayers  of  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Eepublic  ascend  for  her  to  that  God  who  blesses  the  good  ! " 

The  Veteran  uttered  these  words  in  a  voice  so  fraught 
with  the  deep  emotions  which  this  brief  story  had  awak 
ened,  that  we  opine  the  angels  who  heard  it  bore  the  bene 
diction  to  her  who  has  proved  so  worthy  of  it. 

•  That  was  a  happy  evening  for  the  family  of  Allen  Paige, 
happier  than  any  evening  they  had  seen  for  many  months  ; 
and  as  the  Veteran  and  Prescott  took  their  leave,  the  latter 
clasped  Emma's  hand  closer  than  had  formerly  been  his 
wont,  which  she  returned  with  a  look  that  attended  him  in 
his  dreams. 

Yes,  that  family  was. happy;  for  though  the  resources 
and  pertinacity  of  their  wily  persecutor  had  taught  them 
that  the  morrow  might  not  realize  the  hope  of  to-day,  yet 
that  "  son  and  brother  "  whom  they  loved  so  much  was  not 
dead,  but  living. 


336  THE   VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 


CHAPTEE    XLIV. 

JONAS  CEINGAE  sat  alone  in  his  private  office,  after 
all  but  Billings  had  departed  from  the  store.  He 
held  in  his  hand  a  letter  which  had  just  been  given  him 
by  the  book-keeper.  It  was  from  the  Veteran,  informing 
him  that  he  had  had  an  interview  with  the  President  and 
four  of  the  most  influential  Directors  of  the  Bald  Eagle 
Silver  Mining  Company,  to  whom  he  had  stated  all  that 
was  necessary  for  his  purpose,  and  who,  though  shocked 
and  confounded  on  learning  of  the  merchant's  defalcation, 
had  under  the  circumstances  decided  to  waive  immediate 
action,  and  await  the  development  of  the  movement  which 
the  Veteran  had  initiated.  The  President,  he  wrote,  freely 
told  him  in  the  course  of  the  interview  he  had  with  him 
before  seeing  the  Directors,  that  both  he  and  some  of  his 
associates  on  the  board  had  for  some  time  past  viewed  the 
broker  with  suspicion,  who,  as  the  reader  will  recollect,  had 
purchased  stock  and  managed  to  become  an  officer  of  this 
company  that  he  might,  through  his  influence  and  manipu 
lative  skill,  cover  Cringar's  defalcation  till  such  time  as  its 
exposure  would  not  endanger  his  own  criminal  operations. 

As  the  merchant  now  sat  with  this  letter  in  his  left 
hand,  which  hung  over  the  arm  of  his  chair,  he  gave  evi 
dence  of  a  marked  change  for  the  better.  Though  still 
bearing  that  worn  and  haggard  look,  there  was  apparent 
on  his  countenance  an  indescribable  expression  of  relief, 
which  told  of  a  realization  that  the  clutch  on  his  throat 
by  his  hell-inspired  tormentor  had  been  loosened  by  a 
friendly  hand. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       337 

The  Veteran,  to  whom  the  gymnast  had  brought  the 
forgery  immediately  after  the  departure  from  the  loft  of  his 
guilty  dupe,  chose,  for  judicious  reasons,  to  retain  the  docu 
ment  till  he  had  seen  all  his  plans  safely  carried  out.  This 
the  merchant  expected ;  but  it  gave  him  very  little  un 
easiness,  for  he  knew  he  had  nothing  to  fear  in  that  direc 
tion  if  he  proved  himself  as  good  as  his  word,  in  endeavor 
ing  with  all  his  power  to  atone  for  the  wrong  he  had  done 
the  family  of  hi's  former  partner.  He  knew,  also,  that  in 
the  Veteran  he  had  a  friend  who  looked  kindly  upon  him ; 
who,  while  he  did  not  fail  to  condemn  his  guilty  acts,  yet 
realized  that  with  a  heart  not  naturally  bad  he  had  through 
his  weaknesses  been  made  the  victim  of  a  strong  and  de 
signing  man ;  and  he  felt  that  if  there  were  any  hope  of 
rising  left,  this  magnanimous  soldier  would  be  disposed  to 
do  his  utmost  to  assist  him. 

"  Satan  is  always  near  when  you  're  thinking  about 
him,"  is  a  saying  which  is  often  confirmed ;  and  in  Jonas 
Cringar's  case  it  now  held  good ;  for  just  as  he  was  absorbed 
in  thoughts  of  that  relentless  tormentor,  from  whose  clutch 
he  congratulated  himself  he  was  about  to  escape,  Garvin'rj 
well-known  voice  was  heard  questioning  the  book-keeper, 
who  was  preparing  to  leave  the  store  for  the  night. 

Its  tone  was  hoarse  and  unusually  vindictive,  and  for  the 
instant  the  merchant  shrank  cowering  in  his  chair. 

The  door  opened  and  the  broker's  visage  was  thrust  in, 
distorted  with  an  absolute  grin  of  baffled  rage. 

On  sight  of  this  diabolical  visage  Jonas  Cringar  trem 
bled  with  his  old  terror,  and  the  sweat  began  as  in  former 
times  to  appear  on  his  forehead.  But  as  the  broker  con 
tinued  to  stand  at  the  threshold,  bending  upon  him  his 
lurid  eye,  in  which  unsteadiness  was  now  perceptible,  he 
brought  to  his  aid  his  native  strength,  and  with  the  realiza- 

15  v 


338       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

tion  that  the  dark-browed  man  before  him  had  lost  that  by 
which  he  had  formerly  held  such  terrible  power  over  him, 
speedily  subdued  much  of  his  agitation,  and  fastened  his 
gaze  on  the  other's  countenance  with  a  firm  and  determined 
air. 

Garvin  could  not  endure  this.  Closing  the  door  and 
striding  into  the  room,  he  brandished  his  fist,  and  cried  in 
a  voice  that  was  choked  with  rage,  — 

"  Jonas  Cringar  !  do  you  think  you  are  to  escape  me  ? " 
Then  as  he  compressed  his  beetling  brows  still  farther  over 
his  eyes,  he  almost  whispered  as  he  hissed  these  three 
words,  leaving  a  marked  interval  between  each  one,  and 
increasing  his  vindictive  emphasis  as  he  uttered  them, 
"  Traitor  !  —  defaulter  !  —  FORGER  ! " 

The  merchant  quailed  under  this  attack,  and  as  his 
paling  countenance  gave  evidence  of  his  fear  the  broker 
laughed  derisively. 

"  Let  me  tell  you,  Jonas  Cringar,"  he  exclaimed  with 
fierce  sarcasm,  "  by  breaking  faith  with  Daniel  Garvin  you 
have  incurred  his  terrible  vengeance,  and  thrown  yourself 
into  the  jaws  of  destruction  !  " 

Cringar  recovered  himself  sufficiently  to  look  with  a 
steadier  eye  on  this  baffled  but  still  threatening  plotter. 
It  was  impossible,  however,  for  him  to  suppress  an  agita 
tion  which  resulted  both  from  the  influence  of  his  un 
welcome  visitor's  presence,  and  the  consciousness  of  guilt 
which  still  haunted  him  with  the  fear  of  retribution. 

"  Mr.  Garvin,"  he  said  conciliatingly,  "  I  do  not  under 
stand  this  language.  You  are  very  hasty." 

This  attempt  at  conciliation,  instead  of  sinking  to  the 
very  floor  under  Daniel  Garvin's  threatening  words,  was  so 
significant  of  the  change  wrought  in  their  relative  posi 
tions,  that  the  broker  could  scarcely  contain  himself.  Ap- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       339 

preaching  nearer  the  merchant,  he  assumed  such  an  aspect 
as  caused  his  former  victim  to  tremble  for  his  life,  and 
instinctively  to  push  back  his  chair  with  his  foot. 

"  Clown  ! " 

As  Daniel  Garvin  uttered  this  epithet  the  word  recalled 
the  clown  who  had  made  such  a  dupe  of  him,  and  his 
passion,  which  seemed  to  have  overleaped  all  bounds, 
verged  on  the  ravings  of  insanity. 

"  Clown  ! "  he  reiterated.  "  That  is  the  word  for  such  a 
traitor  and  swindler  ! " 

Jonas  Cringar  was  stung  to  the  quick. 

"  Have  a  care,  sir  ! "  he  exclaimed. 

If  the  conciliatory  words  before  used  by  the  merchant 
had  the  effect  to  stir  the  depths  of  Garvin's  wrath,  this 
admonition  of  one  whom  he  had  so  long  and  exultingly 
held  in  the  most  abject  mental  slavery  now  served  to 
destroy  any  self-control  he  might  have  had  remaining. 
Seizing  Cringar  by  the  throat,  as  he  had  his  son  when  he 
discovered  him  at  his  chamber  door,  he  shook  him  violently, 
growling  savagely  through  his  clenched  teeth,  — 

"  '  Have  a  care  ! '  —  do  you  tell  me  to  have  a  care  ?  Say, 
dog  of  a  forger !  do  you  tell  me  to  have  a  care  ?  I  will 
teach  you  who  is  master !  Give  me  back  that  paper  you 
hired  an  accursed  monkey  to  steal  from  me  ! " 

"  I  did  not ! "  uttered  Cringar  in  a  stifled  voice,  as  he 
strove  in  vain  with  his  shattered  strength  against  the  pow 
erful  and  infuriated  broker. 

"  Liar ! "  returned  the  latter,  closing  his  hand  still  tighter 
about  the  throat  of  the  strangling  merchant.  "  I  knew 
you  the  night  that  Simple  Sal  gave  us  a  bit  of  her  jargon ! 
Damn  you !  you  crept  out  of  the  door  like  a  skulking 
traitor  !  and  I  determined  then  that  if  you  dared  to  fail  me 
I  'd  teach  you  whose  God  was  to  be  depended  upon !  and  I 


340       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

will,  you  sanctimonious  hound  ! "  This  word  hound  again 
recalled  the  California  clown,  and  with  a  renewed  burst 
of  fury  he  shook  Jonas  Cringar  against  the  wall,  crying, 
"  Hound  !  fox  !  wolf !  cat !  and  —  " 

The  raging  broker  released  his  grasp  as  he  observed  a 
sudden  expression  of  joy  appear  in  the  eyes  of  the  mer 
chant  ;  and  while  his  teeth  still  remained  apart  to  let  the 
interrupted  epithet  pass  between  them,  a  heavy  hand  was 
laid  upon  him  and  he  was  dragged  back  with  irresistible 
power. 

"  Mr.  Garvin,"  said  a  deep,  stern  voice,  "  you  are  fond 
of  violent  deeds." 

Garvin  turned,  and  found  himself  confronted  by  the 
Veteran.  The  expression  of  his  face  was  for  an  instant 
hideous.  The  entire  strength  of  his  diabolical  nature 
seemed  to  concentrate  itself  in  his  dark  visage.  Hatred, 
spite,  fury,  desperation,  each  contributed  to  the  seething 
caldron  within,  as  foul  as  the  caldron  of  Hecate's  witches. 
His  eyes,  whose  unsteadiness  was  noticeable  as  he  appeared 
to  Cringar,  rolled  under  the  black  and  lowering  brows,  send 
ing  out  shifting  and  lightning-like  gleams ;  the  cheeks  be 
came  mottled  like  a  reptile;  while  the  upper  lip  played 
with  spasmodic  jerks,  showing  his  teeth  in  a  manner  that 
imparted  unwonted  fierceness  to  all  the  features. 

The  Veteran  instinctively  stepped  back  as  if  a  poisonous 
thing  had  suddenly  sprung  into  his  path.  Then  bending 
upon  this  repulsive  visage  a  look  of  grave  severity,  he  said 
in  a  calm  voice  of  still  greater  depth,  — 

"Daniel  Garvin,  neither  the  assassin  nor  the  strangler 
will  now  avail." 

For  a  moment  the  broker  seemed  about  to  spring  like  a 
foaming  beast  upon  this  calm  and  intrepid  soldier;  then 
suddenly  turning  he  went  to  a  chair,  leisurely  took  his 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       341 

seat,  and  with  a  ferocious  grin  similar  to  the  one  with 
which  he  had  greeted  Cringar,  but  kindled  by  a  still  in- 
tenser  passion,  he  cast  his  glittering  glance  from,  the  Vet 
eran  to  the  merchant. 

"  Fools  I "  he  exclaimed  in  a  tone  of  the  bitterest  scorn, 
"  do  you  think  you  have  a  child  to  play  with  ?  —  This  is 
Jonas  Cringar,  I  believe  ? "  he  said  with  mock  gravity, 
grinning  at  the  merchant,  while  his  eye  blazed  upon  him 
with  a  look  which  startled  his  former  slave  into  a  respon 
sive  nod.  Then  directing  his  glance  to  the  Veteran  he 
said,  "  And  this  is  General  Hammond,  alias  Thorbolt,  if  I 
mistake  not  ? " 

The  response  in  this  case  was  such  a  look  of  the  firm 
gray  eye,  whose  power  seemed  enhanced  by  the  pallor 
caused  by  his  own  guilty  act,  that  he  was  for  a  moment 
discomfited,  and  his  eye  rolled  toward  the  door,  and  then 
back  to  the  merchant,  at  sight  of  whom  he  regained  his 
voice. 

"Well,  Mr.  Jonas  Cringar  and  General  Thorbolt  Ham 
mond,"  uttered  he  with  a  sarcastic  snarl,  "  you  think  you 
have  —  let 's  see  —  you  called  it  the  right  bower,  the  left 
bower,  ace,  king,  and  queen  in  California,  I  believe,  Mr.  ex- 
Coyote  ?  —  ha,  ha  !  you  perceive  I  'm  good-natured  and  in 
excellent  spirits  !  Well  —  that  is  a  word  I  repeat  —  well, 
thinking  you  have  these  cards,  you  propose  to  sweep  the 
stakes  without  so  much  as  asking  me  to  show  my  hand.'* 

Then  taking  pencil  and  blank-book  from  his  pocket, 
he  wrote  down  several  items  in  silence,  while  the  Vet 
eran  as  silently  observed  him,  both  puzzled  and  startled 
by  the  strange  conduct  and  appearance  of  this  thwarted 
schemer. 

"  There,"  said  the  latter,  tearing  out  the  leaf  on  which 
he  had  been  writing,  and  holding  it  up  in  view  of  his 


342       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

auditors  ;  "  you  will  perceive  that  one  or  two  tricks  can 
be  made  in  an  humble  way,  even  with  such  a  bad  hand  as 
has  been  dealt  to  me.  Here/'  he  said,  laying  the  point  of 
his  pencil  on  the  item  specified,  "  is  a  card  which  calls  to 
mind  one  Eichard  Slaycut,  and  here  another  that  reminds 
one  of  Slaycut  and  Drorblude,  and  others  that  you  can  ex 
amine  after  the  game  is  played.  A  certain  card  has  been 
spirited  away  from  my  deal,  on  which,  gentlemen,  you  con 
gratulate  yourselves  as  leaving  me  with  no  alternative  but 
to  throw  up  the  game.  But  really,  my  worthy  gamesters, 
you  expose  a  greenness  much  to  be  wondered  at.  —  Jonas 
Cringar ! "  he  cried  with  an  unexpected  and  startling  fierce 
ness,  "so  you  think  because  my  pocket-book  has  been  rifled 
that  you  can  go  with  this  sheriff  Thorbolt,  and  perjure 
yourself  with  lies  about  certain  documentary  statements, 
and  be  believed,  do  you  ? "  Then  waiting  till  he  had  given 
vent  to  a  sneering  laugh,  he  said,  "  The  Bald  Eagle  Silver 
Mining  Company  will  make  excellent  judges  in  this  case. 
Do  you  suppose,"  he  added  with  an  appearance  of  his  old 
concentrated  power,  "  that  Daniel  Garvin  is  a  verdant  fool 
to  attempt  the  game  with  only  one  trump  card  ?  " 

"  Make  no  calculations  in  that  direction,"  said  the  Yet- 
eran,  gravely,  "  the  majority  of  the  officers  of  the  company 
to  which  you  refer  have  been  informed  of  everything." 

"  A  pleasant  deception,  sir,  for  passing  amusement," 
uttered  the  broker,  who  could  not  entirely  conceal  a  look  of 
dismay. 

"  They  understand  the  part  their  unhappy  treasurer  has 
enacted,  and  the  part  you  have  performed  so  skilfully." 

Daniel  Garvin  first  showed  his  teeth,  and  then  bit  his 
under  lip  till  it  bled. 

"  I  care  not ! "  he  exclaimed,  rising  from  his  chair. 
"  Bury  forgeries,  defalcations,  and  all  the  rest,  beneath  the 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       343 

t 

crust  of  the  earth,  and  I  tell  you  in  the  name  of  Daniel 
Garvin's  power,  that  that  which  my  hand  is  on  cannot  be 
taken  from  me  ! " 

"  You  refer  to  the  property  of  Allen  Paige's  estate,  I  pre 
sume  ? "  said  the  Veteran,  his  countenance  beginning  to  as 
sume  that  air  which  indicated  the  massing  of  his  mental 
forces. 

"  My  property,  is  what  I  mean  ! "  returned  the  broker  in 
a  voice  now  loud  and  harsh.  "  My  property,  and  none 
other!" 

"  You  mean  by  this,  that  the  property  which  belongs  to 
the  widow  and  orphan  children  of  your  patriot  half-brother 
you  do  not  presume  to  keep  longer  from  them  ? " 

"  Patriot ! "  cried  Daniel  Garvin  with  a  look  of  the  most 
intense  hatred.  "  Patriot  I  A  curse  to  all  such  patriots, 
who  went  down  to  slay  their  Southern  brethren  !  As  for 
the  dam  and  cubs  of  this  particular  patriot,  let  the  male 
dictions  of  the  South  light  on  their  heads,  but  no  property 
do  you  wring  out  of  me  for  them ! " 

The  broker  now  took  a  stride  toward  the  door. 

"  Hold  ! "  cried  the  Veteran  in  commanding  tones. 
"  Daniel  Garvin,  I  have  not  done  with  you  yet ! " 


344       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTER    XLV. 

GARVIN  stopped  in  his  tracks,  as  his  eye  encountered 
the  Veteran's  commanding  look,  which  corresponded 
with  his  voice. 

"Daniel  Garvin,"  repeated  the  Veteran,  who  was  de 
termined  if  possible  to  bring  the  plotter  to  terms  at  this 
interview,  "  know  you  aught  of  such  a  man  as  Dr. 
Pennell  ? " 

The  broker  retreated  before  both  the  look  and  the  ques 
tion,  while  a  startled  expression  he  could  not  control  took 
possession  of  his  features. 

The  Veteran  again  spoke :  — 

"You  have  heard  of  a  soldier  named  Prescott  Mar- 
land  ? " 

The  conspirator  stared  at  his  questioner  an  instant,  and 
then  making  a  powerful  effort,  controlled  to  a  degree  his 
agitated  features  and  sat  down. 

"  A  lieutenant,  whom  Mr.  Paige  met  at  the  hospital  ? " 
he  said  in  his  craftiest  voice. 

"The  same." 

"You  perceive  by  my  answer  that  I  have  heard  of  him, 
—  that  is  all." 

"  Your  name  has  travelled  an  equal  distance,  for  he  also 
has  heard  of  you." 

"  Inde'ed ! " 

"  If  I  mistake  not  he  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  you 
once  in  this  office." 

"  You  alarm  me  !  My  memory,  which  has  always  served 
me  well,  has  seriously  failed  if  this  be  so." 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  345 

"  It  matters  not.     We  will  suppose  an  incident. 

"  I  will  not  take  your  time." 

"  I  will  be  brief.  A  young  soldier  is  in  a  counting-room. 
A  door  to  the  inner  office  is  opened,  and  he  sees  before  him 
two  desperate  criminals  who  escaped  merited  punishment 
by  breaking  jail.  These  men,  under  aliases,  are  serving 
another  criminal,  who,  being  present,  eyes  this  young  sol 
dier  with  a  look  that  means  mischief.  The  next  day  the 
young  man  receives  a  note,  begging  him  to  attend  to  a 
case  of  charity,  and  is  decoyed  into  a  mad-house.  After 
days  and  nights  of  treatment  that  plainly  meant  murder, 
he  escapes  with  a  fellow-sufferer." 

"  Bah !  what  care  I  for  this  old  woman's  story  ? " 

"  A  moment.  On  their  way  out  they  stop  at  the  Doc- 
tor's  private  office ;  the  companion  opens  the  door,  and  all 
valuable  papers  are  secured." 

The  broker  started,  but  instantly  controlled  himself. 
"  Your  story,  sir,  is  too  long  and  broad,"  he  said,  and  was 
again  about  to  rise. 

"  I  will  close,"  returned  the  Veteran,  waving  him,  with  a 
powerful  look,  back  to  his  seat.  "  Among  these  papers  are 
documents  which  furnish  irrefutable  evidence  against  the 
party  through  whose  machinations  this  young  soldier  was 
incarcerated." 

Daniel  Garvin's  face  suddenly  grew  black,  and  losing  his 
self-control  he  muttered  as  he  ground  his  teeth,  — 

"  Has  the  doctor,  too,  betrayed  me  ?  He  pledged  him 
self  to  bum  everything !  Why  have  I  not  heard  of  this  ? " 

At  the  same  instant  the  door  opened  with  a  quick  move 
ment,  and  Prescott  Marland  entered. 

"  Ah,  General !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  I  have  been  looking  for 
you!"  Then  with  a  side-glance  of  scorn  at  Garvin,  he 
whispered,  "Those  rascals  have  fled  the  city!" 

15* 


346       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Slaycut  and  Drorblude  ? "  said  the  Veteran  aloud,  who 
desired  that  Daniel  Garvin  should  understand. 

"  Yes,"  returned  Prescott,  who,  perceiving  the  intention 
of  his  friend,  turned  with  a  mock  bow  toward  the  broker, 
"  Slaycut,  alias  Fitch,  and  Drorblude,  alias  Eatter,  have 
disappeared  as  speedily  as  they  did  from  the  mines ;  and 
one  Augoring,  oil-merchant,  has  kept  them  company." 

Garvin,  who  had  started  almost  from  his  chair  on  seeing 
the  young  Lieutenant,  now  returned  his  sarcastic  bow  with 
a  look  which  caused  the  object  of  it  to  exclaim,  — 

"  By  Jove !  you  ought  to  have  been  jailer  at  Anderson- 
ville ! " 

The  Veteran  gave  Prescott  an  admonitory  glance;  but 
the  latter  did  not  see  it,  for  his  eyes  were  fastened  in  won 
derment  on  the  broker. 

This  baffled  and  penned-up  master  of  plots  and  men,  as 
he  had  deemed  himself,  now  bore  an  aspect  absolutely 
frightful.  As  we  have  seen,  both  Cringar  and  the  Veteran 
had  wrought  him  up  to  a  fury  which  threatened  to  pass  the 
bounds  of  sanity ;  but  now  with  his  full  situation  before 
him,  —  his  plots  and  crimes  gathering  like  messengers  of 
vengeance  about  his  own  head,  —  the  words  and  manner 
of  the  young  Lieutenant  seemed  to  have  inflicted  the  final 
blow.  The  combined  expression  of  a  wild  beast  and  a 
venomous  reptile  at  bay  could  alone  give  an  idea  of  the 
looks  of  this  infuriated  man. 

Catching  the  Vetetan's  arm,  the  young  Lieutenant 
pointed  at  the  hideous  head  as  if  it  were  a  mask  without 
sight  or  hearing,  and  cried,  — 

"  By  Heavens  !  General,  he 's  mad ! " 

Billings,  the  book-keeper,  who,  observing  Garvin's  ap 
pearance  as  he  came  in,  had  remained  to  be  ready  for  any 
emergency,  now  appeared  at  the  door. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       347 

The  instant  the  broker's  eye  lit  on  this  young  man  he 
sprang  to  his  feet,  and  pointing  at  him  with  a  quivering 
finger  he  drew  a  poniard  from  his  breast,  and  leaping  to 
ward  the  merchant  with  his  finger  still  extended  toward 
the  book-keeper,  he  cried  in  a  voice  that  vied  with  the  un 
earthly  noise  of  a  flying  shell,  - — 

"  The  tool  of  your  perfidious  treachery  is  there !  Here 
the  instrument  of  my  vengeance  ! " 

Jonas  Cringar  raised  his  hands  with  a  half-articulated 
cry  for  mercy.  The  broker  responded  with  a  horrible 
laugh,  and  clove  the  air  with  his  dagger. 

In  the  next  instant  he  was  hurled  with  tremendous 
force  to  the  other  end  of  the  office,  and  the  Veteran,  now 
fully  aroused,  turned  upon  him  with  a  face  the  passionate 
power  of  which  passes  all  description. 

"  Assassin ! "  he  exclaimed  in  tones  that  rolled  like  the 
heavy  artillery  with  which  he  had  so  often  mingled  his 
voice, — "  assassin !  and  hirer  of  assassins  !  are  you  not  satis 
fied  with  your  attempts  at  human  life  ?  Do  not  beldams, 
ruffians,  mad-house  doctors,  and  desperados  serve  to  satiate 
your  wolfish  appetite  ?  " 

"  Beldams  ! "  cried  the  would-be  assassin,  half-stunned 
by  the  treatment  he  had  received  from  the  Veteran.  "And 
has  that  toothless  hag  also  blown  the  deed  I  paid  her  for  ? " 

"  Your  deeds  are  all  made  known,"  returned  the  Veteran, 
now  advancing  toward  the  broker,  who  still  held  the  pon 
iard  in  his  hand. 

Garvin  perceived  the  object  of  this  man  whose  strength 
he  had  just  felt,  and  drawing  slightly  back  he  raised  his 
weapon. 

The  Veteran's  eyes  now  began  to  blaze  with  internal  fires 
such  as  Prescott  had  often  seen  preparatory  to  battle.  But 
his  demeanor  was  calm,  and  his  gaze  as  steady  as  the  sun. 


348       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Give  me  the  dagger ! "  he  said,  in  a  low,  commanding 
voice. 

The  broker  glared  upon  him  with  rolling  eye,  and  then 
drawing  back  his  upper  lip  he  revealed  in  all  their  threat 
ening  array  his  white,  glistening  teeth. 

The  Veteran  understood  this  look.  Bending  his  gaze 
with  still  greater  force  of  will  upon  those  unsteady  glaring 
eyes,  he  advanced  with  a  firm  step,  while  his  pale  face  as 
sumed  an  air  which  was  absolutely  solemn  in  the  grandeur 
of  its  concentrated  strength. 

He  came  within  the  length  of  his  own  arm  of  Garvin's 
uplifted  wrist.  The  latter  continued  to  return  his  gaze 
with  his  own  fierce  glare,  but  he  did  not  move  his  threat 
ening  hand. 

Prescott  and  the  book-keeper  remained  silent  witnesses 
of  this  scene,  while  the  merchant  sat  half  stupefied  by  his 
impending  death,  and  unexpected  escape.  Prescott's  first 
impulse  had  been  to  spring  to  the  unarmed  Thorbolt's  as 
sistance,  for  the  broker  with  his  thick  heavy  frame  was  not 
to  be  despised,  even  without  his  weapon.  But  there  was 
that  in  the  air  of  the  Veteran  as  his  towering  form  con 
fronted  the  muscular,  but  now  somewhat  shrinking  figure 
before  him,  which  forbade  interference,  and  the  young  sol 
dier  held  back. 

One  more  step  was  taken.  The  broker  made  a  move 
ment  of  his  arm ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  Veteran's  iron 
grip  was  on  his  wrist.  He  prepared  for  a  furious  struggle ; 
but  his  antagonist  tightened  his  grasp,  and  with  a  yell 
of  rage  rather  than  of  pain  the  dagger  dropped  from  his 
rigid  fingers. 

"  Attempt  no  more  murders  ! "  said  the  Veteran,  relaxing 
his  hold.  "  The  arm  of  an  Almighty  God  is  against  you, 
and  your  own  crimes  have  .confounded  you ! " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GKAND  AEMY.        349 

The  broker  burst  into  a  laugh,  which  chilled  the  blood 
of  those  who  listened. 

" '  An  Almighty  God ! '  "  he  sneered,  "  that  was  what 
Cringar  talked  about  one  night.  You  remember  it,  don't 
you,  my  boy  ? "  he  cried,  looking  at  the  shrinking  mer 
chant  across  the  office,  —  "  the  night  Simple  Sal  gave  us 
the  anthem !  She  was  a  pretty  young  wench,  was  Sal, 
with  her  flattened  face  framed  by  the  window-sash !  eh, 
Cringar !  You  looked  scared  that  night,  poor  dotard ! 
—  You  see,"  he  continued,  addressing  the  Veteran,  with  a 
profound  bow,  "  this  same  Simple  Sal  sang  words  which  to 
a  weak,  superstitious  mind  were  not  agreeable.  I  'm  no 
singer,  but  my  old  friend  there,  who  has  fought  the  bold 
battle  of  life,  and  robbed  his  beloved  partner's  family  of 
everything  they  possessed,  he  has  a  very  fine  voice, 
full  and  sonorous ;  and  by  the  will  of  Daniel  Garvin !  I 
swear  he  could  ring  the  chorus  right  well  with  the  sweet 
songstress  of  that  memorable  night.  Let's  see,  Cringar," 
and  he  again  looked  at  the  merchant;  "it  ran  somewhat 
in  this  way,  if  I  recollect  aright,  — 

'  My  gentle  sirs,  be  very  kind  ! 
Your  candle  's  out, 
My  gentle  sirs  ! 
You  '11  be  found  out, 
My  gentle  sirs  ! 
But  gentle  me  you  cannot  find  ! ' 

Ha.  ha!  she  withdrew  with  great  alacrity,  and  left  my 
friend  gaping  as  if  he  'd  spied  the  Devil !  You  see  there 
was  something  in  that  song,  General  Thorbolt,  that  shocked 
his  guilty  soul  — 

'  You  '11  be  found  out, 
My  gentle  sirs  ! ' 

I  remember  it  all  very  well,  for  I  Ve  hummed  it  a  good 


350  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

many  times  since.  It  struck  me,  sir,  it  struck  me  very 
ridiculously,  —  the  whole  thing,  —  Cringar  and  all ! "  Then 
with  another  burst  of  laughter  he  exclaimed,  "An  Al 
mighty  God !  The  arm  of  an  Almighty  God  is  against 
me ! "  And  now  straightening  himself,  and  smiting  his 
chest,  he  cried :  "  Daniel  Garvin  is  sufficient  unto  himself  ! 
If  there  is  an  Almighty  God,  let  him  take  care  of  the  im 
beciles  !  Drop  the  curtain  and  pick  up  the  swords  !  —  the 
play  is  over  !  ha,  ha,  ha  !  Good  evening,  gentlemen,  a  right 
pleasant  good  evening  "  ;  and  being  near  the  open  door  he 
stepped  off  with  a  quick  movement,  similar  to  the  action 
of  a  man  intoxicated,  who  with  unsteady  head  starts  briskly 
away  in  a  straight  line  to  convince  himself  and  others  that 
he  is  sober.  . 

The  Veteran  gazed  after  him  with  a  perplexed  counte 
nance,  while  Prescott  and  Billings  exchanged  meaning 
glances.  The  latter  tapped  his  forehead  with  his  finger, 
and  Jonas  Cringar  looked  toward  the  door,  muttering  to 
himself, — 

"  His  soul  was  haunted  by  that  song  as  well  as  mine." 

Suddenly,  as  the  wind  whistled  through  the  store,  the 
Veteran  started  forward. 

"  This  is  wrong ! "  he  exclaimed.  "  If  I  mistake  not, 
that  man  has  lost  his  wits,  and  may  be  even  now  doing 
violence  as  a  madman  ! "  and  hastening  to  the  outer  door, 
which  Garvin  had  left  open,  he  looked  in  every  direction. 
But  the  retreating  broker  had  disappeared. 

The  sky  was  overcast  with  heavy  clouds,  and  the  wind 
that  had  been  rising  for  the  past  half-hour  now  blew  vio 
lently  through  the  street,  slamming  unfastened  blinds  and 
shutters  to  and  fro  with  a  loud  noise,  the  creaking  signs 
joining  in  the  dismal  concert. 
.  Presently  the  sound  of  rain  was  heard  swiftly  advan- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       351 

cing,  and  in  another  moment  it  swept  by  the   store  in  a 
flooding  torrent. 

***** 

Toward  midnight  two  sailors  were  leaning  over  the  taff- 
rail  of  a  brig  that  lay  at  anchor  in  East  Eiver. 

"  If  this  continues,"  said  one  of  these  men,  "  Hell  Gate 
will  have  to  wait  for  the  Betsey  Jane." 

"  I  am  afraid  it  will,"  returned  the  other,  impatiently,  as 
he  watched  the  scudding  white-caps  fly  before  the  wind 
that  whistled  loudly  in  the  rigging. 

The  rain,  which  had  held  up  for  a  space,  now  poured 
down  in  sheets,  and  began  to  run  in  streams  through  the 
scuppers. 

"  By  the  shades  of  old  Nep ! "  cried  the  second  speaker, 
"  I  think  I  '11  turn  in  out  of  this ! "  and  he  moved  to 
ward  the  gangway. 

"  Hist ! "  cried  the  other  in  a  loud  whisper,  pointing  to 
the  pier  near  which  they  were  anchored.  "  Yonder  comes 
a  man  who  is  either  drunk  or  crazy !  His  head  is  bare, 
and,  by  my  own  bald  pate !  as  near  as  I  can  make  out 
through  the  rain  and  darkness  with  this  dim  light,  his  hair 
is  but  a  poor  covering."  • 

His  companion  turned ;  but  not  having  the  sharp  sight 
of  the  other,  he  could  only  discern  an  outline  of  a  man 
striding  from  side  to  side  at  the  end  of  the  pier. 

As  he  was  about  to  speak  a  shrill,  harsh,  mocking  voice 
pierced  the  storm,  and  the  sailors  both  listened  intently. 

"  Blow  your  rain ! "  cried  the  apparition  on  the  wharf, 
brandishing  his  arms  wildly  in  the  air.  "Whistle,  ye 
noisy  winds  !  You  're  dark  enough  to  whistle  well !  Ha, 
ha !  Ye  are  negroes  all,  and  whistle  the  hallelujah  of  your 
freedom,  eh ! "  A  shrieking  gust  now  tore  through  the 
storm.  "  Ay,  join  in  with  your  sweet  voices,  you  black  and 


352       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

devilish  imps  !  join  in,  I  say !  That  ape  that  set  you  free, 
let  him  direct  you !  Hear  ye  not  my  command  ?  Hear 
and  tremble  when  I  proclaim  myself !  My  name  is  Daniel 
Garvin !  Ha,  ha !  shriek  with  terror,  for  if  ye  cross  him 
in  one  single  note  of  your  dinning  concert  he  11  be  quick 
with  vengeance ! " 

"  He  's  mad-! "  exclaimed  the  sailor  who  first  discovered 
him. 

"  As  a  March  hare  ! " 

"Hush!     He 'sat  it  again!" 

"  Vengeance !  vengeance  ! "  screamed  the  voice.  "  Pour 
down  your  vengeance  on  this  bald  head !  Let  it  receive 
thy  vengeance  without  stint,  thou  frowning  Heaven  !  'T  is 
a  traitorous  crown  !  a  perfidious  crown  ! "  And  he  beat  his 
bared  head  with  fury.  "  Burst  it,  ye  elements !  Crack  the 
skull  with  your  hammer,  old  Scandinavian  Thor  ! " 

The  madman  suddenly  dropped  his  hands,  and  coming 
to  the  edge  of  the  pier,  looked  straight  toward  the  spell 
bound  mariners,  and  with  a  low  bow  he  broke  into  a  fit  of 
wild,  ironical  laughter. 

"  Your  servant ! "  he  cried.  "  General  Thorbolt,  your 
servant,  —  your  most  humble  servant !  —  What !  you  give 
return  with  an  air  so  patronizing  that  methinks  you  take 
me  for  a  portrait-painter !  Ah,  you  hypocrite  !  I  under 
stand  it !  Folded  in  that  tail  which  I  see  coiled  beneath 
your  skirts  is  the  writ !  The  writ,  do  you  hear !  —  Cease 
your  nocturnal  din  ! "  he  yelled,  with  a  commanding  gesture 
toward  the  heavens.  "  Cease  !  for  Daniel  Garvin  would  be 
heard  !  —  The  writ,  I  say  !  You  have  the  writ !  but  where 's 
your  man  ?  Uncoil  your  harpoon  tail  and  hang  by  it  to 
the  yard-arm !  Grin  like  the  clown  who  entertained  me 
with  his  gambols  !  Laugh !  laugh  !  I  '11  count  you  as  you 
laugh !  Jonas  Cringar,  lead  the  file,  and  as  you  pass  by 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  353 

split  your  sides  with  merriment !  And  you,  you  foul  deni 
zen  'twixt  heaven  and  hell ! — you  smiling  she-wolf,  end  off 
the  train,  and  crack  your  laughter  through  your  broken 
fangs  !  Come  haste  your  steps,  for  I  'm  choleric,  and  feel 
my  temper  rising  ! " 

"  Let  us  go  to  him,"  said  the  sailor  who  had  spoken  first 
before,  "  or  he  will  drown  himself." 

"  Ay,  ay !  but  we  must  do  it  carefully.  A  man  like  that 
is  dangerous." 

Without  more  ado,  they  proceeded  as  quietly  as  possible 
to  lower  the  stern  boat,  which  was  out  of  sight  of  the  mad 
man,  who  continued  to  rave. 

"  Heigh-ho  !  heigh-ho ! "  he  now  cried  with  an  exult 
ant  laugh.  "  How  well  the  heavens  tune  their  strains  to 
the  music  here  ! "  and  he  beat  his  breast.  "  'T  is  a  secret ! 
Blow  it  not,  0  sympathizing  Boreas,  and  I  '11  tell  you  what 
it  is !  I  've  built  an  organ  here,  and  the  imps  of  hell  pump 
in  the  wind,  while  the  facile  fingers  of  their  master  play 
the  keys  !  —  the  pedals  ?  ha,  ha,  ha !  With  his  cloven  foot 
he  has  a  knack  that  beats  them  all ! "  Then  smiting  his 
breast  with  blows  that  resounded  through  the  storm,  he 
howled :  "  Pump  in  the  wind,  you  lazy  imps  !  The  organ 
groans  !  Satan,  you  defy  the  very  laws  of  sound !  The 
temple  shakes  to  its  foundation  with  your  pealing  tones ! 
Now  let  the  choir  sing  the  glory  of  Daniel  Garvin,  vic 
torious  !  Sing  !  rend  your  lungs,  but  you  must  sing  !  Ay, 
All-ruling  God !  Satan's  music  vies  with  thine !  Cringar 
prated,  in  his  fear,  of  thee  !  and  in  spite  of  thee  I  Ve 
crushed  him  !  Ay,  Daniel  Garvin  is  a  god  unto  himself ! 
Sing  with  a  louder  strain,  ye  voices  !  Satan  drowns  you 
with  his  roof-cracking  notes  ! " 

As  the  mad  broker  recommenced  the  furious  blows  on 
his  breast,  his  eye  caught  sight  of  the  boat  which  at  that 


354       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

instant  appeared  shooting  out  from  behind  the  stern  of  the 
brig,  and  with  a  renewed  burst  of  laughter,  he  yelled,  — 

"  Too  late  !  Erie  's  gone  !  —  Down  with  your  hands 
and  cease  your  clamor ! "  turning  his  eyes  to  the  storm. 
"  You  '11  break  in  the  walls  with  your  loud-mouthed  bids. 
The  bulls  have  it !  —  do  you  hear  ?  The  bulls,  I  say  !  Go 
home,  ye  bears,  and  lap  your  chops  for  honey  ! "  He  then 
bowed  low  to  the  sailors.  "  What !  gone  short,  and  want 
Daniel  Garvin  to  help  you  out  ?  Go  to  my  namesake,  — 
Uncle  Dan  !  He  '11  give  you  a  lift,  if  your  hair  and  claws 
are  long  enough  ! " 

The  sailors,  who  for  a  moment  had  rested  on  their  oars, 
now  renewed  their  strokes  with  vigor. 

"  What ! "  howled  the  maniac,  straightening  himself. 
"  Are  ye  all  traitors  !  Tell  me  you  come  for  stock  !  I  see 
your  irons  !  Your  fetters  are  not  for  me  !  Melt  them  into 
Union  grape,  and  pepper  well  that  thin-shanked  Jonas,  and 
the  fangless  she-wolf !  "  Then  with  a  final  peal  of  laugh 
ter  that  curdled  the  blood  of  the  laboring  oarsmen  he 
screamed :  "  So  ye  think  to  cage  the  strong-horned  bull ! 
You  're  mad  !  These  bawling  winds  are  mad  !  The  heavens 
are  mad  !  Ay,  the  whole  world  is  mad  !  and  I  '11  be  mad 
unless  I  go  hence,  quickly  !  —  One !  —  Avast,  you  bailiff 
water-bugs  !  —  Two  !  —  If  I  rise  from  the  immersion,  slip 
your  fingers  o'er  my  watered  scalp  !  —  Three  !  —  I  'm 
gone  ! "  And  leaping  to  the  opposite  side  of  the  pier  he 
plunged  into  the  river. 

With  a  cry  of  horror  the  sailors  pulled  to  the  spot  where 
he  disappeared ;  but  even  the  eddies  which  his  body  cre 
ated  as  it  went  down  were  mingled  with  the  waves,  and 
they  watched  in  vain  for  his  reappearance. 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  355 


CHAPTER    XLVI. 

A  MONTH  has  passed  since  the  incidents  occurred 
which  have  just  been  narrated.  We  are  in  that 
drawing-room  in  which  we  have  witnessed  scenes  de 
scribed  in  former  chapters.  All  is  as  it  was  then, — 
the  same  paintings  hang  in  their  old  places,  the  same 
pieces  of  statuary  stand  on  the  accustomed  pedestals  and 
brackets,  the  same  piano  awaits  the  familiar  touch  in  its 
own  corner,  and  the  same  furniture  with  its  rich  carvings 
invites  one  to  sit  and  ruminate  like  Joseph  Deering  over 
the  comforts  of  competency. 

But  now  steps  approach  the  door  which,  in  a  manner 
still  more  pleasing  than  all  we  have  just  surveyed,  tells 
us  of  the  change  this  past  month  has  brought  about. 

The  door  is  opened,  and  a  face  appears  in  lovely  con 
trast  to  the  forbidding  visage  which  greeted  the  Veteran 
on  that  stormy  day  when  he  came  to  this  house  and  found 
the  family  of  Allen  Paige  turned  from  beneath  its  roof. 
It  is  the  face  of  Emma  Paige,  radiant  with  happiness ; 
for  she  has  just  left  her  mother  sitting  in  that .  room 
where  the  patriot  husband  was  tended  in  his  illness,  and 
contemplating  the  dear  objects  sacredly  associated  with 
his  memory,  which  bring  tears  of  mingled  joy  and  sad 
ness  to  her  eyes. 

A  brief  statement  of  the  circumstances  which  have  led 
to  this  happy  result  is  all  that  is  necessary. 

Directed  by  the  information  given  by  the  sailors,  the 
authorities  searched  for  the  body  of  the  mad  suicide,  and 
after  two  days'  grappling  found  it  at  a  considerable  distance 


356  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY. 

below  the  pier  from  which  he  made  his  fatal  leap.  The 
body  was  instantly  identified  as  that  of  Daniel  Garvin, 
and  was  buried  with  feelings  of  grief  and  desolation  by 
his  son  William. 

With  the  broker  dead,  the  young  artist  hastened  to  make 
all  the  restitution  in  his  power  for  the  wrongs  committed 
by  his  father.  He  was  assisted  in  this  work  by  Jonas 
Cringar,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  details  of  the 
operation  by  which  Daniel  Garvin  had  defrauded  the 
family  of  his  half-brother,  and  who  worked  day  and  night 
in  this  labor,  with  a  sort  of  happiness  which  seemed  to 
him  more  like  a  dream  than  the  reality. 

William,  whose  conscience,  as  the  reader  is  aware,  was 
naturally  tender,  and  whose  few  days'  experience  before 
and  after  his  father's  tragical  death  had  done  the  work 
of  twenty  years,  was  not  content  with  an  exact  resti 
tution  of  actual  property  taken  by  the  broker ;  he  also  de 
sired  to  mend  as  far  as  possible  the  harm  which  he  had 
done  for  which  the  law  could  claim  no  compensation.  In 
such  work  he  had  a  wise  counsellor  in  the  Veteran,  whom 
he  looked  up  to  with  perhaps  greater  reverence  than  ever 
before. 

Among  other  things  to  be  accomplished  in  this  direction 
was  such  judicious  assistance  for  Cringar  as  would  enable 
him  to  repair,  in  a  degree,  his  broken  life,  which  had 
been  shattered  through  the  machinations  of  his  tempter; 
the  guilt  for  which  he  himself  was  responsible  having 
been  expiated  in  the  terrible  sufferings  he  had  experienced. 
Through  the  influence  of  the  Veteran  an  arrangement  was 
made  with  the  Bald  Eagle  Silver  Mining  Company,  by 
which  the  merchant  was  to  return  the  money  he  was  re 
sponsible  for  by  semiannual  instalments  with  interest, 
William  Garvin  guaranteeing  the  same.  To  enable  him 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        357 

to  do  this,  as  well  as  re-establish  himself  in  business,  Wil 
liam,  under  the  advice  of  the  Veteran,  advanced  sufficient 
to  clear  pressing  liabilities,  and  set  him  well  on  his  feet. 
All  this  the  son  was  amply  able  to  perform,  the  father  hav 
ing  left  property  amounting  in  value  to  nearly  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars. 

The  Paiges  found  their  old  home  comparatively  undis 
turbed,  one  of  the  great  sources  of  enjoyment  on  the  part 
of  the  broker  while  he  occupied  it  having  been  to  gaze 
around  on  the  evidences  of  former  comforts  experienced  by 
his  half-brother,  and  that  family  to  whom,  then,  it  was  ap 
parently  lost  forever. 

The  past  few  months  seemed  to  them  like  a  shadowy 
dream,  from  which  sometimes  they  could  hardly  believe 
themselves  yet  awakened.  There  was  a  feeling  of  strange 
ness  when  they  first  passed  from  room  to  room,  as  though 
they  had  been  absent  for  years.  Their  recent  experience 
had  been  so  crowded  with  events  and  trials  that  it  seemed 
a  separate  life,  not  to  be  measured  by  the  ordinary  divisions 
of  time.  This  served  rather  to  enhance  the  unspeakable 
happiness  with  which  they  moved  in  the  midst  of  those 
sacred  associations  from  which  they  had  so  nearly  been  for 
all  time  excluded. 

Emma  had  enjoyed  a  communion  with  her  mother  in 
the  room  which  had  been  sanctified  by  the  impressive  death 
of  the  husband  and  father,  and  in  which  Daniel  Garvin 
had  not  obtruded  his  unholy  presence  after  the  first  day  he 
moved  in;  for  here  his  conscience  disturbed  his  gloating 
vengeance  to  a  degree  which,  while  he  with  characteristic 
pride  refused  to  acknowledge  it,  compelled  him  neverthe 
less  to  retire,  no  more  to  cross  its  threshold.  Mother 
and.  daughter  had  wept  together  as  thev  talked  of  the  loved 
one  who  there  passed  away ;  and  in  the  interchange  of  their 


358        THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

hearts'  grateful  sentiments  they  had  not  failed  to  bless  the 
comrade  of  this  loved  one,  through  whose  labors  they  were 
returned  to  these  cherished  scenes.  And  now  the  heroine 
of  our  story,  radiant  with  that  happiness  which  reflected 
the  tearful  yet  soul-awakening  joy  of  her  whom  she  had 
left  alone,  entered  the  drawing-room  and  gazed  around  with 
beaming  eye.  Then  approaching  the  piano  she  opened  it 
and  touched  the  keys. 

Ah!  the  heaven-inspired  notes  which  the  spirit  that 
deeply  feels  may  bring  from  this  responsive  instrument ! 
Under  the  delicate  hand  of  that  fair  girl,  from  whose  heart 
welled  emotions  she  would  express  in  music,  the  chords 
swept  forth  and  filled  the  room,  giving  her  feelings  an 
utterance  that  words  could  never  yield ;  and  intermingled 
with  them  was  an  air  gently  yet  sadly  floating,  telling  of  a 
soul  whose  bliss  soared  to  those  ideal  realms  where  joy  and 
sadness  dwell  inseparably  together. 

One  now  came  to  the  door  and  listened.  He  had  entered 
the  hall  without  ringing,  for  he  had  been  affectionately 
forbidden  to  pull  the  bell  when  he  came  to  visit  this  home. 
He  listened  with  his  head  slightly  bowed  as  if  his  heart 
would  unite  with  hers  in  the  utterance  of  those  prayerful 
and  blissful  emotions. 

The  harmony  grew  deeper,  and  the  melody  more  tender, 
until  the  instrument  seemed  voluntarily  pouring  out  its 
notes  from  a  living  spirit.  Then  suddenly  from  these  strains 
a  simple  accompaniment  stole  tremblingly  forth,  and  Emma 
with  heaving  breast  and  glistening  eye  commenced  to  sing. 

He  who  stood  without  now  wiped  the  tear  from  his 
cheek  as  he  listened,  for  she  was  singing  "  HOME,  SWEET 
HOME!" 

Her  voice  trembled  as  she  sang,  but  the  heart  sustained 
it,  and  it  hovered  in  the  air  with  touching  sweetness :  — 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.  359 

"Mid  pleasures  and  palaces  though  we  may  roam, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  's  no  place  like  home  ; 
A  charm  from  the  skies  seems  to  hallow  us  there, 
Which,  seek  through  the  world,  is  ne'er  met  with  elsewhere. 
Home,  home,  sweet,  sweet  home, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  's  no  place  like  home. 

"An  exile  from  home, splendor  dazzles  in  vain, 

0,  give  me  my  lowly  thatched  cottage  again, 

The  birds  singing  gayly,  that  come  at  my  call ; 

0,  give  me  that  sweet  peace  of  mind,  dearer  than  all. 
Home,  home,  sweet,  sweet  home, 
Be  it  ever  so  humble,  there  's  no  place  like  home." 

As  the  last  note  died  tremulously  away,  Prescott  opened 
the  door.  Emma  rose  to  meet  him,  a  smile  lighting  up  her 
tearful  eyes. 

As  he  took  her  hand  he  said,  — 

"  Emma,  I  have  been  a  listener  for  several  moments.  If 
I  have  thus  stolen  rare  happiness  I  must  beg  you  to  for 
give  me." 

The  blush  that  suffused  her  cheek  when  he  entered 
deepened. 

"  You  must  not  turn  flatterer  now,"  she  answered,  drop 
ping  her  eye  before  his  ardent  gaze. 

"  I  cannot  flatter  you,"  he  returned  with  a  smile,  but  in 
a  voice  not  free  from  agitation.  "  Such  music  is  beyond 
even  my  powers  of  flattery." 

t  Then  bending  over  the  piano  he  began  looking  in  a 
searching  manner  along  the  sounding-board  and  under  the 
wires. 

Emma,  who  anticipated  some  quaint  turn  of  Prescott's 
humor,  followed  him  with  her  eyes  in  pleased  silence. 

"  I  do  not  find  them,"  he  said,  at  length,  raising  his  head. 

"  What  do  you  seek  there  ? " 

"Angels." 


360       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GEAND  ARMY. 

"Prescott  —  " 

"You  must  not  scold  me,  dear  sister,"  exclaimed  the 
young  Lieutenant,  "  for  I  mean  no  harm  ! " 

"You  have  surely  turned  to  a  giddy-headed  flatterer," 
rejoined  Emma,  who,  while  rebuking  him  with  a  severity 
which  does  not  often  so  partake  of  tenderness,  did  not  fail 
to  observe  traces  of  the  feelings  with  which  he  had  listened 
to  her  song.  "  When  one  begins  flattering  a  friend  't  is  a 
warning  that  the  esteem  between  them  needs  the  aid  of  a 
ready  tongue." 

"  It  may  be  so,  —  it  must  be  so  if  you  say  't  is  so  —  " 

"  Fy,  Prescott !  you  are  in  strong  mood  for  flattery  to 
day." 

"Dear  sister,"  said  the  young  Lieutenant,  a  look  now 
appearing  on  his  handsome  face  to  which,  with  maidenly 
intuition,  Emma  responded  with  a  fluttering  heart,  "  I  can 
not  satisfy  you  with  my  speech-making.  I  pray  you,  there 
fore,  let  me  sit  and  listen  to  more  of  the  music  which  you 
would  have  me  call  so  poor." 

Emma  concealed  a  slight  confusion  which  began  to  mani 
fest  itself  by  hastily  seating  herself  at  the  piano  in  re 
sponse  to  this  request. 

"  I  did  not  ask  you  to  call  it  poor,  but  I  fear  you  '11  have 
reason  to  do  so,"  she  said  as  she  swept  the  keys.  "  You 
know  I  am  out  of  practice." 

This  reference  to  the  recent  past  touched  Prescott  deeply, 
and  he  gazed  on  Emma  with  an  expression  which  told  how 
deeply  his  heart  was  moved. 

Sheet  after  sheet  was  played,  the  fair  performer  now 
throwing  a  sentiment  into  her  instrument  which  caused  the 
heart  of  her  listener  to  thrill  with  the  magnetism  with 
which  the  notes  were  charged.  In  that  improvisation  to 
which  Prescott  had  given  such  rapt  attention  at  the  door, 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GKAND   ARMY.  361 

the  spirit  had  found  its  utterance ;  in  these  performances 
the  heart  was  plainly  speaking,  —  and  time  stole  swiftly 
on. 

At  length  Emma  ceased  playing,  and  rose  from  the 
piano.  Prescott's  head  was  slightly  inclined  forward,  and 
his  eyes  raised  in  the  same  degree  as  their  gaze  was  fixed 
upon  her  with  all-absorbing  love. 

Involuntarily  from  her  own  eyes  there  beamed  a  respon 
sive  look,  and  then  the  lids  drooped  as  if  to  conceal  what 
the  maidenly  heart  would  not  prematurely  make  known. 

The  enamored  lover  was  entranced  by  the  picture  now 
presented  by  this  charming  girl.  With  an  irresistible  im 
pulse  he  rose  and  took  her  hand. 

"Emma,"  he  said  softly,  "will  you  walk  with  me? 
There  is  a  beautiful  sunset  I  have  longed  for  many  a  day 
to  gaze  upon  with  you." 

She  cast  upon  him  a  quick  glance,  and  then  suffered 
herself  to  be  led  to  the  painting,  which  had  been  enshrined 
in  the  memory  of  both. 

"  Emma,"  he  said  yet  more  tenderly,  "  when  I  first  stood 
before  this  picture  my  heart  formed  it  into  a  reality.  My 
fancies  gave  a  name  to  those  two  figures  whose  souls  seem 
so  united  in  the  midst  of  that  western  glory." 

As  he  thus  spoke  he  pressed  her  hand  more  closely. 

"  Do  you  not  see,  dear  Emma,  that  a  halo  surrounds 
them  ?  Their  lives  are  to  be  happy,  for  they  love  one 
another  —  " 

Her  hand  trembled  in  his. 

"  —  And  their  hands  are  clasped  as  they  behold  together 
the  glowing  scene ;  for  each  knows  the  love  which  burns 
in  the  heart  of  the  other." 

Deep  blushes  came  and  went  as  Emma  gazed  on  the 
picture,  which  seemed  all  of  a  golden  haze. 

16 


362       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Darling ! "  whispered  the  lover,  suddenly  raising  her 
hand  to  his  lips,  "  shall  not  the  picture  I  formed  when  I 
first  stood  here  be  made  reality?  I  called  those  figures 
You  and  I!" 

In  another  moment  that  lovely  head  was  nestled  on  his 
bosom,  while  his  arm  gently  stole  around  her  waist ;  and 
then  as  her  face  turned  up  to  his,  that  first  lingering  kiss 
was  given  through  which  two  yearning  hearts  pour  the 
sweet  current  of  their  souls. 

An  hour  flew  by,  and  the  mother  entered  the  room.  The 
lovers  were  sitting  side  by  side ;  their  faces,  covered  with 
gentle  confusion,  told  the  tale.  She  smiled  with  a  happi 
ness  which  only  the  mother  can  experience  who  realizes 
that  her  daughter  is  beloved  by  a  man  she  can  herself  love 
and  trust  as  a  son. 

Prescott  came  forward,  and  said, — 

"  Mother,  will  you  not  give  me  a  pledge  that  will  insure 
my  right  to  call  you  '  mother '  for  all  time  ?  " 

Mrs.  Paige  led  the  young  soldier  to  her  daughter,  and 
placed  his  hand  in  hers. 

"  My  dear  children,"  she  said,  "  I  bless  you !  It  is  the 
blessing  of  a  happy  mother's  heart.  And,"  she  uttered, 
raising  her  eyes  above,  while  she  held  their  hands  clasped 
in  hers,  "  there  is  one  that  has  gone  before  us,  whose  bless 
ing  I  believe  is  joined  with  mine." 

Tears  filled  Emma's  eyes,  and  she  felt  Prescott's  hand 
press  hers,  as  if  he  said,  "  In  memory  of  that  dear  parent, 
I  consecrate  my  soul  to  your  happiness  ! " 

Then  she  thought  of  another. 

"  Ah  !  "  she  uttered  to  herself.  "  My  happiness  would 
be  complete  if  he  were  here." 

The  wishes  of  her  heart  were  unexpectedly  answered; 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  363 

for  scarcely  had  she  uttered  them  when  the  Veteran  was 
ushered  into  their  presence. 

In  the  countenances  of  the  happy  group  before  him  he 
read  all  that  had  taken  place. 

"  They  await  your  blessing,"  said  Mrs.  Paige. 

The  Veteran  advanced,  and  placing  a  hand  on  either 
head,  he  uttered  a  benediction  so  fervent  and  impressive 
that  the  tears  trembled  on  Emma's  lids,  and  Prescott's 
eyes  glistened  with  sympathetic  feeling. 

There  was  that  in  the  appearance  of  the  grand  and  ma- 
majestic  warrior  which  added  solemnity  to  this  touching 
scene.  The  pallor  of  his  countenance  had  increased,  and 
there  was  a  look  in  his  eye  that  seemed  to  come  from 
depths,  which,  when  observed  in  any  person,  convey  an  im 
pression  that  the  spirit  is  already  gazing  into  that  land 
where  it  is  to  find  its  eternal  home.  To  Emma,  who  had 
from  the  first  ever  associated  the  Veteran  with  her  father 
in  a  manner  she  could  scarcely  explain,  this  appearance 
was  especially  affecting.  At  the  same  time  that  she  felt 
as  if  the  benediction  insured  the  kindly  care  of  Heaven 
for  the  yeai?3  of  wedded  life  that  might  be  hers,  there  was 
also  an  impression  as  though  he  who  gave  it  was  about 
being  separated  from  them  by  the  space  that  divides  the 
visible  from  the  invisible  world. 

But  the  object  of  these  thoughts  soon  restored  cheerful 
ness  to  the  hearts  of  all ;  and  Alice,  having  now  joined 
them,  the  two  sisters  entertained  the  company  with  duets 
which  were  enchanting  to  the  soul  of  the  happy  Prescott, 
and  to  which  the  Veteran  seemed  to  listen  with  an  inward 
ear  as  he  gave  attention  with  an  air  of  deep  meditation. 


364  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY. 


CHAPTEK  XLVII. 

THIS  story,  Comrade  Koberts,  sounds  like  the  creation 
of  a  novelist's  brain.  And  has  it  really  occurred 
right  around  us  here  in  New  York  ? " 

"  All  right  here  among  us." 

"  Allen  Paige's  family  have  certainly  given  it  a  tone  of 
reality  I  '11  confess.  Their  donations  to  the  Grand  Army 
surpass  anything  I  have  yet  heard  of." 

"Yes  indeed!  In  these  donations  you  see  the  expres 
sions  of  benevolence  and  gratitude  combined.  It  is  a  re 
markable  shifting  of  the  scenes  in  this  every-day  life  of 
ours.  It  seems  scarcely  yesterday  since  I  enjoined  it  on 
Comrade  Marland  to  notify  us  if  this  family  should  need 
aid;  and  now  here  we  are  almost  staggering  under  the  load 
of  contributions  sent  in  by  them." 

"  'T  is  a  marvellous  change,  truly.  You  know  I  have 
followed  them  in  one  way  with  unusual  interest." 

"  Through  the  breastpin  ? " 

"  Yes.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  my  feelings  when  I  went 
into  old  Meinshon's  pawn-shop  and  saw  that  pin  with  the 
likeness  of  our  brave  Colonel,  and  heard  the  Jew's  story 
about  his  daughter  coming  in  that  stormy  day  and  pawn 
ing  it." 

Koberts  smiled. 

"I  can  understand  much  better  now,"  he  said  to  his 
companion,  in  whom  the  reader  will  recognize  the  comrade 
he  had  spoken  of  to  Prescott  on  the  cars  as  the  one  who 
gave  him  the  quaint  but  touching  story  told  by  the  kind- 
hearted  pawnbroker,  and  with  whom  he  was  now  return- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       365 

ing  from  a  Post  meeting,  —  "I  can  understand  much  better 
now,  Comrade  Walker,  why  the  Lieutenant  was  so  deeply 
affected  when  he  saw  Allen  Paige's  family  entered  on  my 
relief-list,  and  heard  the  story  of  the  breastpin."  He 
thereupon  gave  Walker  an  account  of  his  first  meeting 
with  Prescott  on  the  New  Jersey  Central  train. 

"  That  must  have  been  hard,"  returned  the  latter.  "  But 
he  is  well  repaid  now,  for  of  all  beautiful  girls  I  have  had 
the  good  fortune  to  meet,  I  think  she  is  the  most  beau 
tiful." 

"  There  is  soul  there,  as  well  as  a  handsome  face." 

"That  is  the  secret.  She  has  the  true  beauty;  and  I 
observe  that  while  every  one  gazes  at  her  with  admiration, 
she  wins  all  by  her  goodness.  Comrade  Marland  is  a  lucky 
fellow." 

"  He  deserves  to  be  a  lucky  fellow." 

(<  That 's  so.  There 's  not  a  soldier  but  is  ready  to  con 
gratulate  him.  He  has  a  grand  start  in  life  as  partner  in 
that  store." 

"  Yes.  But  the  benefits  will  not  be  on  one  side,  let  me 
tell  you.  The  Lieutenant  goes  in  to  take  charge  of  the 
Paige  interest,  and  he  '11  double  it  in  a  short  time,  or  I  'm 
no  judge  of  men." 

"  He  '11  be  sure  to  succeed,  or  I  'm  no  judge  of  women." 

"  What  do  you  mean  by  that,"  asked  Roberts,  laughingly. 

"  I  mean  that,  with  such  a  wife  as  he  is  to  have,  he  can 
not  fail.  I  have  remarked  that  good  wives  are  a  strong 
guaranty  of  a  man's  success  in  life." 

"  I  agree  to  that." 

"  My  friend  the  pawnbroker  has  an  exalted  opinion  of 
Miss  Paige.  It  was  only  the  day  after  she  had  been  to  re 
deem  the  pin  in  person,  that  I  called  to  learn  if  it  was  still 
there.  He  gave  me  an  account  in  his  graphic  broken  Eng- 


366  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND   ARMY. 

lish  of  this  second  visit  of  hers.  She  must  have  appre 
ciated  his  goodness  of  heart,  for  he  being  a  pretty  deep 
student  of  human  nature,  Besides  entertaining  a  sincere 
admiration  for  her,  was  desirous  of  engaging  her  in  con 
versation  ;  and  she  indulged  him  with  a  courtesy  and  good 
sense  which  so  delighted  him  that  he  lost  a  customer,  who 
came,  waited,  and  went,  in  his  enthusiasm  to  recount  to 
me  his  interview  with  her." 

"  Have  you  heard  how  Comrade  Marland  first  met  her  ? " 

"  I  have  not." 

Koberts  narrated  the  circumstances  as  Prescott  himself 
had  related  them  to  him. 

"  That  diabolical  old  woman  ought  to  have  been  hung ! " 
exclaimed  Walker  when  his  companion  had  finished. 

"You  hit  nearer  than  you  suppose.  It  was  this  old  hag 
that  Garvin  hired  to  put  Thorbolt  out  of  the  way.  She  it 
was  that  set  those  assassins  on  him." 

"  Who  found  that  out  ? " 

"The  General  himself.  You  see,  when  he  was  struck 
with  the  slung-shot  by  one  of  the  scoundrels,  the  other 
thought  he  was  done  for,  and  he  was  so  full  of  exulta 
tion  that  when  he  sprang  at  him  with  his  knife  he  was 
fool  enough  to  cry  out,  '  One  for  the  Lancet  and  Mammy 
Eoone  ! '  This,  together  with  the  identification  of  the 
scamp,  who  was  called  Doctor,  —  whose  skull,  you  will 
recollect,  was  broken  in  by  a  front  cut  of  Thorbolt's 
cane,  —  put  the  police  on  the  track.  But  she  was  too 
wary  for  them,  and  made  off  with  the  fellow  who  they 
say  fired  the  pistol,  —  Dick  Smasher  they  call  him,  —  and 
neither  of  them  are  likely  to  be  seen  in  these  parts  for  one 
while.  It  is  a  bit  of  consolation  to  know,  however,  that  if 
this  precious  beldam  and  her  hireling  haven't  got  their 
deserts,  the  little  Irishwoman  who  warned  General  Ham- 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       367 

mond  of  Mammy  Eoone's  plot  against  Miss  Paige  has ;  for 
the  family  employ  her  continually,  and  give  her  enough  to 
keep  her  from  want  for  a  score  of  years." 

"  Good !  That 's  what  I  call  gratitude  to  the  humble  ! " 
exclaimed  Walker.  "  So  Billings  was  in  that  adventure," 
he  added.  "  I  'm  slightly  acquainted  with  him.  He 's 
book-keeper  at  Cringar's,  and  seems  to  be  a  pretty  smart 
fellow." 

"  That  he  is,"  returned  Eoberts.  "  He  has  been  of  great 
service  in  the  Paige  and  Garvin  affairs  ;  and  Marland  tells 
me  he  will  eventually  enter  the  concern.  And  from  what 
the  Lieutenant  has  dropped,  I  judge  that  he  is  going  to 
take  his  chances  and  wait  for  Emma  Paige's  younger  sister, 
Alice,  a  girl  who  promises  in  a  few  years  to  be  as  charming 
a  young  woman  as  her  elder  sister,  and  who  seems  to  have 
a  high  opinion  of  him." 

"  Marland  must  have  looked  as  though  he  had  just  broke 
a  Eebel  prison  when  you  met  him  the  night  he  escaped  from 
the  mad-house,"  said  Walker  after  a  moment's  silence. 

"  He  did,  indeed  !  He  saw  my  surprise,  and  promised  at 
a  future  time  to  tell  me  about  what  had  happened,  which 
he  did.  'T  was  a  thrilling  story,  as  you  can  imagine.  It 
was  a  marvellous  piece  of  business,  —  that  inventor's  pick 
ing  their  way  out." 

"  I  should  say  so.  But  the  best  part  of  that  story  is  the 
raid  on  the  Doctor's  private  office. 

"I  agree  with  you  there,  Comrade,"  replied  Eoberts, 
laughing.  "And  what  is  still  better,  Prescott  captured 
enough  to  break  up  the  den,  and  drive  the  Doctor  and  his 
whole  pack  from  the  city.  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the 
way  he  told  me  that  his  cell-mate,  the  mad  Corporal,  had 
got  into  comfortable  quarters.  You  would  have  thought  he 
was  talking  about  a  comrade  that  had  gone  all  through  the 
war  with  him." 


368       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

"  Comrade  Marland  has  a  warm  heart." 

"  Yes,  as  warm  as  it  is  bold.  I  like  him.  I  've  yet  to 
see  the  man  that  does  n't.  I  venture  to  say  he  '11  not  soon 
forget  the  inventor." 

"  No,  I  guess  not !  Judging  from  his  knowledge  of 
curious  inventions,  I'm  inclined  to  think  they've  seen 
much  of  each  other  since  their  escape." 

"Well,  I  must  leave  you  here,"  said  Walker,  parting 
from  his  comrade.  After  proceeding  a  few  paces,  he 
turned  quickly  and  said, — 

"  Comrade  Koberts,  write  that  tale  out  and  read  it  to 
the  Post." 


CHAPTER  XLYIII. 

MAY  had  departed.  June  had  come,  with  its  fresh, 
green  verdure,  its  wild-flowers,  its  feathered  song 
sters,  and  its  balmy  days. 

In  a  chamber  overlooking  the  placid  Hudson  lay  one 
whose  great  strength  would  have  seemed  sufficient  to 
hold  back  for  years  to  come  that  mighty  Conqueror  of 
all  that  is  earthly  in  mortal  man. 

It  was  the  Veteran.  He  was  repaying  with  his  life  the 
efforts  it  had  been  his  privilege  to  make  in  behalf  of  a 
comrade's  wronged  and  outraged  family.  Those  premoni 
tory  signs  which  had  filled  with  sadness  the  hearts  of  this 
family  were  being  realized  as  prophetic.  In  his  anxiety 
for  them  he  rose  too  soon  from  a  sick-bed,  which,  with 
the  arduous  mental  as  well  as  the  physical  labor  he  at 
once  engaged  in,  had  completed  the  work  a  life  of  ex 
posure  and  numerous  wounds  had  done  much  to  ac 
celerate. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       369 

His  iron  will  had  sustained  him  till  all  was  done  for 
which  he  had  labored ;  then  a  fatal  relapse  set  in,  and  the 
final  breaking  up  came  with  that  suddenness  which  often 
marks  the  end  of  powerful  men ;  and  now  at  the  close  of 
a  June  day  that  had  been  unusually  calm  and  tranquil,  he 
lay  serenely  awaiting  the  orders  from  Head-quarters  to  join 
that  great  army  on  whose  banners  are  inscribed  celestial 
mottoes. 

The  windows  were  open,  and  the  joyous  songs  of  birds 
filled  the  air,  harmonizing  with  the  divine  beauty  of  this 
scene,  in  which  Death  was  clothed  in  bright  garments, 
making  ready  to  give  the  final  summons  with  beatific 
smiles. 

.The  dying  Veteran  had  fallen  into  a  brief  sleep.  When 
he  awoke  he  turned  to  the  nurse  who  was  attending 
him  in  this  his  last  illness,  and  asked  in  a  voice  which, 
though  weak,  indicated  its  former  depth  and  richness, 
"Have  they  not  come?" 

At  this  moment  sounds  of  an  approaching  carriage  were 
heard,  and  presently  Mrs.  Paige,  Prescott,  Emma,  and  Al 
bert  entered  the  room. 

The  Veteran  greeted  them  cheerfully,  and  took  each  by 
the  hand. 

"  You  are  not  all  here,"  he  said,  after  Albert  had  come  to 
the  bedside. 

Mrs.  Paige  looked  at  Emma.  "  You  need  not  fear,"  said 
the  Veteran  with  a  smile;  "I  want  you  all  around  me. 
You  know  the  sick  are  whimsical  at  times." 

Emma  went  out,  and  returned  with  Alice  and  Little 
Dorrit.  As  the  latter  was  led  to  him  she  exclaimed, — 

"  O  Uncle  Thorbolt,  I  'm  sorry  you  are  sick !  You  are 
so  good,  I  know  God  will  get  you  well ! " 

He  again  smiled,  and  reaching  forth  his  hand,  which 

16*  x 


370       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

his  strength  still  permitted,  he  placed  it  gently  on  her  head, 
saying,  — 

"  My  little  pet,  God  has  been  very  kind  to  Uncle  Thor- 
bolt,  and  he  will  take  him  soon  where  he  cannot  be  sick 
again." 

The  child  evidently  understood  these  words;  for  tears 
came  into  her  eyes,  and  hiding  her  face  in  the  folds  of 
her  mother's  dress,  she  gave  vent  to  her  childish  grief. 

The  dying  soldier  followed  her  with  his  eye,  and  then 
turned  an  imploring  glance  on  Mrs.  Paige. 

"  I  pray  you,"  he  said,  "  teach  this  little  one  to  look  on 
Death  as  an  angel  of  brightness ;  not  the  enemy,  but  the 
friend  of  mankind.  Teach  her  so  that  she  shall  visit  the 
tomb  without  dread,  without  sorrow.  He  who  is  called  to 
a  distant  land  to  enjoy  extraordinary  good  fortune  is  not 
mourned  ;  neither  is  the  family  which  bids  him  a  temporary 
farewell  bereaved  beyond  the  first  pangs  of  parting.  Rather 
are  they  rejoiced  at  the  good  fortune  of  the  one  they  love. 
So  is  it  with  what  we  term  death.  Those  who  are  called 
above  go  to  a  land  in  which  is  insured  a  happiness  sur 
passing  our  conception.  Were  it  not  that  this  last  chill 
to  my  mortal  frame  is  on  me,  I  fear  my  self-control  would 
not  avail  against  the  manifestations  of  my  joy,  as  I  think 
of  that  world  for  which  I  shall  so  soon  depart." 

The  little  group  about  him  listened  with  a  kind  of  awe 
to  words  like  these,  spoken  by  one  who  felt  himself  passing 
away  from  this  life.  Mrs.  Paige,  especially,  who  in  her 
Samaritan  labors  had  witnessed  many  death  scenes  in  the 
course  of  her  experience,  never  before  beheld  one  so  im 
pressive  as  this.  Here  indeed  was  the  type  of  a  Christian 
soldier;  one  who,  before  that  stage  was  reached  when 
the  dying  so  often  gaze  with  ecstasy  into  the  world 
which  they  are  about  to  enter,  lay  calmly  on  his  pillow, 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       371 

and  with  a  clear  knowledge  of  his  approaching  end,  dis 
coursed  with  the  faith  and  clearness  of  a  Christian  phi 
losopher.  And  how  beautiful  his  views  of  death  !  As  she 
listened,  Mrs.  Paige  vowed  silently  to  Heaven  that  her 
little  girl  should  never  know,  if  her  efforts  could  avail,  the 
fear  which  makes  a  dread  visitant  of  that  Presence  which 
is  truly  a  seraphic  angel  come  to  welcome  home  the 
Heaven-bound  spirit. 

The  Veteran  continued. 

"  The  '  City  of  the  Dead '  is  calm  and  peaceful.  And 
forgive  an  old  comrade,"  he  added,  turning  his  gaze  with  a 
smile  upon  Prescott,  "  for  presuming  to  preach  to  you  ;  but 
I  would  say,  so  live  that  this  '  City '  shall  ever  be  pleasant 
to  you.  Not  simply  a  place  of  curious  epitaphs,  or  tasty 
works  of  art,  but  a  spot  in  which  the  very  mounds  shall 
speak  to  you  of  Heaven,  and  hold  you  in  elevating  medi 
tation  ;  making  your  heart  pure,  and  inspiring  you  with 
higher  resolutions  to  perform  the  duty  which  God  has 
assigned  you  as  your  share  of  work  before  he  takes  you 
hence.  Prescott,  it  is  a  state  of  mind  to  be  thankful  for, 
when  one  can  say,  '  This  is  a  beautiful  world,  and  I  con 
tinually  experience  a  happiness  I  cannot  express;  but 
nevertheless  I  blissfully  contemplate  that  moment  when  the 
Lord  shall  say,  "  Thy  work  is  done.  Come  up  hither."  ' 

Prescott,  whose  eyes  had  filled  when  the  Veteran  com 
menced  addressing  him,  now  bowed  his  head  ;  and  taking 
his  dying  comrade's  hand  in  his,  he  inwardly  prayed  that 
sentiments  like  these  might  actuate  his  life,  and  that  in 
death  the  Lord  might  find  him  so  well  prepared  as  he  who 
thus  addressed  him. 

The  Veteran  now  lay  silent  for  a  while,  a  slight  com 
pression  of  his  mouth  indicating  temporary  pain. 

"When  Emma  saw  this,  she  was  obliged  to  turn  away  to 
conceal  her  emotion. 


372  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GllAND   ARMY. 

"  Are  they  not  coming  also  ? "  lie  said  at  length,  raising 
his  eyes. 

"  Who  ? "  asked  Prescott. 

"  Mr.  Cringar,  and  his  book-keeper,  —  or  rather  his  and 
your  book-keeper,"  he  added,  smilingly  correcting  himself 
in  a  manner  which,  recalling  as  it  did  the  labors  he  had 
undergone  for  their  sakes,  touched  them  all  to  the  heart. 

"  They  will  be  here  soon/'  answered  the  young  Lieu 
tenant. 

"  Jonas  Cringar  has  suffered  deeply,"  continued  the  Vet 
eran  as  if  to  himself.  "  Think  you,"  he  said,  again  looking 
up,  "  that  he  could  have  been  happy  in  the  '  City  of  the 
Dead/  when  he  was  so  sorely  oppressed  with  his  guilt  ? " 

Prescott  shook  his  head. 

Albert  now  went  to  the  window,  and  looking  out,  ex 
claimed,  — 

"  They  are  coming,  General  Hammond,  —  Mr.  Cringar 
and  Mr.  Billings." 

"  Thank  you,  my  dear  boy,"  returned  the  Veteran  in  a 
gracious  way  that  reminded  those  about  him  of  the  times 
that  had  passed.  "  You  would  make  me  a  good  aid,  were  I 
in  the  service  just  now." 

Albert,  who  was  an  impressible  lad,  drew  back  and 
silently  wept. 

The  merchant  and  book-keeper  entered  the  room  directly 
after,  and  were  received  by  their  dying  friend  in  the  same 
cheerful  way  he  had  greeted  the  others.  His  reception  of 
the  former  was  accompanied  by  a  look  which  caused  this 
man,  so  recently  broken  and  wretched,  to  join  his  left  hand 
with  his  right;  and  he  thus  stood  for  several  moments 
clasping  in  both  of  his  the  hand  that  had  greeted  him,  and 
gazing  with  an  expression  of  veneration  and  gratitude  on 
the  face  of  the  magnanimous  Thorbolt. 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.        373 

"  My  friend,"  lie  said  at  length ;  but  his  voice  faltered, 
and  he  could  not  go  on. 

The  Veteran  regarded  him  from  his  pillow  with  so  kind 
an  air  that  he  exclaimed  from  an  irresistible  impulse,  — 

"  Dear  General !  If  the  Lord  would  but  take  my  life  for 
yours,  I  would  gladly  give  it ! " 

"  Ah,  no,"  responded  the  Veteran,  "  you  are  to  be  of  great 
service  to  them  all."  And  he  looked  around  affectionately 
on  those  who  stood  witnessing  this  scene. 

"  Ever  thinking  of  others  ! "  murmured  the  book-keeper, 
whose  countenance  was  expressive  of  deep  reverence. 

The  merchant  unclasped  his  hands,  and  forgetting  for  the 
moment  all  else  around  him,  raised  them  imploringly  to 
Heaven. 

"  0  God ! "  he  exclaimed,  "  take  me,  —  a  poor,  shattered, 
broken-down  man,  —  and  restore  him  who  has  done  so 
much  good ! " 

All  were  deeply  affected ;  and  so  earnest  was  the  prayer, 
it  seemed  for  an  instant  as  though  it  must  be  answered ; 
as  if  he,  so  shattered  by  his  past  sufferings,  would  be  taken 
as  the  offering  for  him  who  was  lately  so  strong  and  effi 
cient  a  worker  among  his  fellow-men. 

Jonas  Cringar  continued  his  upward  gaze,  while  his 
hands  folded  themselves  as  they  slowly  fell,  like  one  await 
ing  a  response  to  his  soul-uttered  petition. 

The  tranquil  object  of  this  prayer  remained  silent  until 
the  suppliant  lowered  his  tearful  eyes.  Then  he  said,  — 

"  To  you,  my  friend,  is  reserved  a  noble  work.  In  that 
great  city  which  has  recently  witnessed  so  much  that  is 
eventful  to  you,  destitution  and  misery  hold  multitudes  of 
victims.  Relieve  them  as  you  shall  have  ths  means  to  do 
so.  No  happier  life  is  passed  than  in  constant  works  of 
benevolence.  No  happier  death  is  there  than  that  which 


374  THE  VETERAN   OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

is  attended  by  the  .blessings  of  those  whom  he  that  is 
passing  away  has  aided  in  life." 

"  Such  shall  be  my  work ! "  uttered  the  merchant  in  a 
fervent  voice.  "  God  has  been  very  kind  to  me  who  was  so 
guilty,  and  I  will  repay  it  by  acts  of  kindness  to  his  suffer 
ing  children.  May  my  death-bed  be  like  this  ! " 

"  Ah  !  you  can  make  it  far  happier  in  that  respect,"  said 
the  Veteran,  with  a  sad  smile.  "  I  have  done  little.  You  can 
do  much;  for  keep  to  your  good  resolutions,  and  Heaven 
will  prosper  you." 

Jonas  Cringar  bowed  his  head  in  silence. 

The  soldier  now  cast  his  eyes  toward  the  open  window 
through  which  he  could  gaze  off  to  the  southwest.  As  he 
did  so  his  face  lit  up  with  a  gleam  of  pleasure,  and  he 
exclaimed  in  a  stronger  voice  than  he  had  yet  used,  — 

"  How  grandly  those  rugged  clouds  are  piled  one  upon 
the  other !  They  catch  the  beams  of  the  setting  sun  ! 
How  warm,  how  radiant  are  the  last  rays  of  day !  —  My 
friends,  so  may  it  be  with  the  last  hours  of  human  life. 
They  should  be  the  happiest  and  most  glorious  of  all." 

He  gazed  awhile  in  silence  with  an  expression  of  solemn 
admiration.  "They  marshal  for  the  thunder,"  he  continued. 
"  How  obediently  do  they  array  themselves  at  the  beck  of 
Heaven  !  They  make  ready  to  hurl  their  fear-inspiring 
bolts ;  but  as  we  behold  their  Great  Commander  with  the 
eye  of  childish  faith,  directing  them  with  an  all- wise  hand, 
they -teach  humility;  for  with  their  towering  grandeur, 
their  threatening  fronts,  and  their  dread  artillery,  they  yield 
unquestioning  obedience  to  his  orders.  Oh !  how  strong 
is  man,  when  with  humble  heart  he  listens  to  the  word  of 
God,  and  believing  all  things  well,  fights  the  good  fight  in 
the  panoply  of  Heaven  !  He  then  surpasses  these  cloudy 
Titans  with  their  thunderbolts,  as  the  spirit,  made  in  the 
image  of  its  Creator,  surpasses  all  inanimate  matter ! " 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND   ARMY.  375 

The  listening  group  which  had  gathered  in  sorrow 
around  his  death-bed  gazed  on  this  departing  warrior  with 
amazement  and  awe.  The  term  "  comfort  the  dying "  was 
reversed.  He  was  their  comforter ;  and  in  these  last  mo 
ments  their  impressive  teacher  also. 

He  now  closed  his  eyes,  and  his  breathing  indicated  that 
he  had  sunk  into  a  gentle  sleep. 

Presently  the  rumbling  of  distant  thunder  broke  the  per 
vading  stillness.  The  sleeper  moved,  but  did  not  awake. 
Another  distant  peal  rolled  over  the  earth.  As  its  reverbe 
rations  entered  the  chamber,  the  Veteran  partly  raised  his 
closed  lids,  and  said,  — 

"Well,  boys,  the  ball's  opened!  What  regiment  has 
the  advance  to-day  ? " 

Then  suddenly  he  looked  up. 

"  What ! "  he  said  smilingly  as  his  glance  fell  on  Pres- 
cott,  "  is  old  Thorbolt  sleeping  on  his  post  ? " 

At  that  moment  the  deepening  thunder  again  re-echoed 
through  the  sky.  The  soldier's  eye  gleamed  for  an  instant, 
lit  by  the  old  martial  fire,  and  then  he  spoke :  — 

"  Prescott,  I  would  have  given  much  to  see  that  charge 
of  Zagonyi's  Body-Guard  in  Missouri,  when  the  four  Phil 
adelphia  brothers  went  in  together  for  the  Union." 

"  The  brothers  Newhall  ? "  returned  the  young  Lieuten 
ant,  desirous  of  preventing  pain  to  the  Veteran's  mind  by 
a  silence  which  would  imply  grief. 

"  Yes,  the  brothers  Newhall.  It  must  have  been  a  noble 
picture  !  The  East  and  West  were  joined  hand  in  hand  in 
that  charge." 

"Yes,"  responded  Prescott,  "and  through  the  war  too, 
General." 

"  Ah,  yes  !  to  the  end.  They  were  hand  in  hand  to  the 
end.  The  Army  of  the  Potomac  grasped  the  Eebellion  by 


376       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GEAND  ARMY. 

the  throat,  and  the  Army  of  the  Cumberland  crushed  in 
its  trunk.  May  they  ever  work  together.  God  be  praised 
that  erelong  there  will  be  no  sectional  North  and  South ! 
The  dividing  line  is  vanishing,  and  soon  fraternal  feelings 
will  extend  to  the  Gulf ;  and  then  will  there  be  the  great 
East  and  West  to  behold  the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun." 

The  heavy  rumbling  of  the  distant  thunder  continued, 
and  while  listening  to  its  reverberations  the  Veteran's 
eye  again  revealed  the  old  fire. 

Presently  he  said,  as  if  speaking  to  himself :  — • 

"  The  Union-loving  States !  sisters,  bound  by  common 
bonds  of  pride  and  grief,  —  pride  that  each  like  a  Spartan 
mother  ha.d  sent  out  its  myriads  of  children  to  fight  for 
liberty,  —  grief  when  thousands  were  laid  low  amid  the 
thunders  of  war  which  vied  with  these  that  echo  through 
the  sky,  —  and  pride  again  that  each  fallen  son  had  found 
a  patriot's  grave  !  Every  State  sent  forth  its  heroes,  whose 
record  enriches  its  archives."  Then  suddenly  turning  his 
gaze  on  the  young  Lieutenant  he  exclaimed  with  unwonted 
energy :  "  The  dead  shall  not  be  forgotten  !  The  States  shall 
not  forget  them  !  Neither  shall  the  Eepublic  !  Their  memory 
shall  be  held  even  more  sacred  in  the  next  generation  than 
in  this  !  Neither  shall  the  living  whom  the  dead  have  left 
pass  from  the  minds  of  this  nation  !  —  Prescott,  I  feel  that 
the  moment  is  not  far  distant  when  my  tongue  is  to  fail 
me.  I  would  therefore  adjure  you  as  a  Comrade  to  ever 
hold  high  the  standard  of  that  Order  which,  like  this 
voice  of  Heaven  that  succeeds  the  thunder-clap,  shall 
sustain  the  tones  with  which  Liberty  made  the  whole 
earth  tremble!" 

Prescott  bent  his  head,  while  his  face,  reflecting  the  sol 
emn  inspiration  of  the  dying  Thorbolt,  glowed  with  the 
soul's  deep  and  holy  resolve.  The  heavens  seemed  cogni- 


THE  VETERAN   OF  THE   GRAND  ARMY.  377 

zant  of  this  scene;  for  at  that  moment  the  lightning  darted 
for  the  first  time  from  the  clouds  upon  which  the  Veteran 
had  gazed,  and  was  followed  by  a  peal  much  nearer  than 
those  that  had  preceded  it,  which  thundered  over  the  now 
darkening  world  with  a  sound  that  impressed  the  silent 
group  as  if  the  Eternal  Voice  were  speaking  to  them. 

Soon  these  clouds  were  lit  up  by  almost  incessant  flashes ; 
and  as  the  twilight  pervading  the  room  was  illuminated  by 
the  lurid  glare,  those  who  still  listened  in  awed  silence 
to  the  nearing  thunder  gazed  steadfastly  on  the  upturned 
face.  As  the  mighty  concussions  shook  the  earth  beneath 
them,  that  face,  so  grand  in  health,  now  assumed  an  as 
pect  of  sublimity.  It  seemed  to  partake  of  the  character 
of  those  white,  rugged  cloud -tops,  which  so  often  pre 
sent  colossal  semblances  of  men,  with  marked  features 
and  swelling  muscles,  the  effect  increased  by  the  infinite 
sky  beyond,  against  which  they  stand  out  in  surpass 
ing  relief.  The  spirit  was  evidently  moved  by  scenes 
of  war,  which  the  thunder-storm  with  its  vivid  flashes 
called  up  before  the  great  cavalry  leader's  fading  sight; 
while  immediately  beyond,  the  eternal  heaven  appeared  to 
enhance  the  power  of  this  last  manifestation  of  enkindled 
mortality. 

Erelong  this  expression  gave  way  to  a  look  of  ineffable 
tranquillity,  which  the  resounding  heavens  served  but  to 
increase.  It  was  a  look  that  gave  those  who  gazed  a 
realization  of  the  tranquillity  to  come,  when  with  the 
mortal  "body  laid  off,  the  spirit  may  labor  on,  if  such  be 
the  will  of  God,  rendered  infinitely  more  efficient  by  the 
heavenly  peace,  which  even  on  the  earth  so  signally 
adds  to  the  powers  of  him  who  is  blessed  with  its  divine 
presence. 

Silence  still  pervaded  the  room,  except  that  occasionally 


378       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

an  awed  whisper  might  have  been  heard,  as  the  eye  was 
directed  toward  the  Veteran,  who  lay  as  if  contemplating 
scenes  beyond  their  power  to  conceive.  In  the  midst  of 
this  silence  the  door  was  gently  opened,  and  a  slight  form 
stood  trembling  at  the  threshold.  It  was  William  Garvin. 

As  he  thus  stands  hesitating  to  come  forward,  one  is  re 
minded  of  the  time  he  stood  by  the  door  of  Allen  Paige's 
chamber,  when  that  patriot  was  passing  to  the  higher  life  ; 
except  that  now  he  is  much  thinner  even  than  he  was 
then,  and  there  are  plainly  perceptible  the  marks  of  wear 
ing  anguish. 

The  Veteran  seemed  at  once  to  realize  the  presence  of 
this  new-comer.  Looking  toward  him  he  smiled,  and 
beckoned  him  to  his  bedside. 

The  young  artist,  his  face  quivering  with  emotion,  has 
tened  to  obey,  and  falling  on  his  knees,  clasped  the  Veter 
an's  hand.  Breaking  into  loud  sobs,  he  covered  it  with  his 
tears. 

"  0  my  friend  ! "  he  uttered  between  his  sobs,  —  "  my 
friend! — my  friend!  Do  not  leave  me  now!  Ah!  if  I 
too  could  die ! " 

"  William,"  said  the  Veteran,  gently,  while  a  slight  damp 
ness  suffused  those  eyes  whose  fountains  were  now  gradu 
ally  drying  up,  "  your  turn  will  come  in  due  time.  If  I 
am  your  friend,  what  do  you  think  He  can  be,  who  in  his 
providence  is  taking  me  home  ? "  He  stopped  a  moment, 
for  he  could  not  sustain  his  speech  as  he  had  previously, 
eand  then  continued  in  a  voice  in  which  was  mingled  deep 
solemnity  and  touching  pathos :  "  Look,  William,  to  that 
dear  Father  who,  as  I  lie  here  awaiting  the  final  call,  I 
tell  you  is  kinder  than  you  can  ever  realize  in  your  present 
existence.  And  you  have  a  Guide,  who  has  made  known 
this  Father.  Learn  of  Him,  follow  His  counsels,  and  tell 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       379 

me  when  you  shall  join  me  in  Heaven  if  happiness  has 
not  been  yours." 

William,  with  a  renewed  outburst  of  grief,  kissed  the 
Veteran's  hand,  and  sobbed,  — 

"  1 11  try !  yes  !  yes  !  I  '11  stay  and  try !  —  Alone  !  alone  \ 
I  shall  be  indeed  alone  ! " 

"  HE  will  ever  be  near  you." 

"Ever  near  me,"  repeated  the  desolate  youth.  Eising 
then  to  his  feet,  he  leaned  over  the  bed  with  an  irresistible 
impulse  and  kissed  the  broad,  pale  forehead,  exclaiming, 
"  Farewell,  my  best  of  friends  !  farewell ! "  Then  turning, 
he  approached  Emma  and  Prescott,  and  convulsively  seiz 
ing  the  hand  of  each,  he  placed  one  in  the  other.  He  tried 
to  speak;  but  his  voice  failed  him,  and  with  one  silent, 
pleading  look  for  forgiveness  which  Emma  returned  with 
tearful  eyes,  he  hastened  from  the  room  to  spend  his  brief 
remaining  life  in  travelling  over  the  world,  and  doing 
good  with  the  money  the  broker  had  left,  deriving  from 
his  acts  of  benevolence  and  a  prayerful  spirit  the  comfort 
the  dying  warrior  had  promised  him. 

***** 

It  was  nigh  unto  midnight.  The  storm  had  passed,  and 
the  thunder  had  hushed  its  voice.  Hushed,  too,  was  the 
voice  of  the  Veteran,  for  he  had  slept  his  last  sleep.  He 
commenced  sinking  rapidly  immediately  after  the  storm 
had  ceased,  as  if  the  grand  commotion  of  the  elements 
had  lent  the  spirit  strength  to  stay  for  a  space  the  pro 
gress  of  dissolution.  For  several  hours  he  had  in  his 
unconscious  intervals  re-enacted,  as  did  the  patriot  mer 
chant,  the  scenes  of  battle  through  which  he  had  passed, 
and  now  the  windows  of  that  mortal  casement  were  needed 
no  more,  for  the  soul  had  left  the  mortal  to  put  on  immor 
tality. 


380       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 


CONCLUSION. 

ris  the  30th  of  May,  1868.     The  bells  toll  throughout 
the  land,  the  booming  minute-gun  mingles  its  tones 
with  their  brazen  notes,  and  columns  of  marching  men, 
with  votive  garlands  in  their  hands,  move  to  the  graves  of 
their  fallen  comrades  to  the  measure  of  the  solemn  dirge. 

It  is  MEMORIAL  DAY,  —  the  day  instituted  by  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Eepublic  for  decorating  the  graves  of  the 
Union  dead. 

It  is  a  day  ordained  for  the  expression  of  a  nation's 
grateful  heart.  The  bells,  the  guns,  the  dirge,  the  solemn 
tread,  the  draped  flag,  —  all  speak  the  nation's  sorrow.  But 
the  garlands,  —  they  speak  the  love  which  ennobles  and 
sanctifies  all  grief.  As  the  angels  look  down  upon  our 
land  this  day,  they  see  these  floral  offerings  wet  with  many 
tears. 

Nothing  connected  with  the  history  of  the  Rebellion 
will  command  the  respect  of  future  generations  in  a  more 
marked  degree  than  this  national  memorial  service.  It 
derives  no  part  of  its  impressiveness  from  ambition,  love 
of  strife,  or  taste  for  adventure ;  but  as  a  bereaved  family 
gather  around  the  last  resting-places  of  their  dear  ones, 
and  strew  the  graves  with  flowers,  and  consecrate  them 
with  prayer  and  affection's  silent  tear,  so  on  this  day  does 
a  grateful  nation  gather  about  the  mounds  where  sleep  the 
patriot  dead,  with  floral  offerings  to  their  memory. 

As  the  future  reader  of  history  shall  look  back  on  this 
sublime  observance,  he  will  exclaim,  "  TJie  nation  had  a 
living  soul !  " 


THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY.       381 

It  has  been  objected  to  this  service  that  it  will  serve  to 
perpetuate  ill-feeling  between  the  two  sections  of  the  coun 
try.  Such  fears  are  groundless.  No  complete  harmony  is 
possible  without  sincere  contrition  on  the  part  of  those  who 
took  up  arms  against  their  country ;  and  no  sincere  contri 
tion  is  possible,  unless  they  perceive  their  wrong,  and  stand 
ready  to  thank  those  who  saved  them  from  accomplishing 
their  own  ruin.  When  they  once  stand  in  this  position, 
they  will  express  in  stronger  terms  their  gratitude  to  the 
memory  of  their  country's  defenders  than  it  is  possible 
for  them  to  do  who  took  no  part  in  the  fratricidal  strife. 

Those  who  are  continually  uttering  their  fears,  as  one 
form  of  permanent  memorial  to  the  Union  dead  follows 
another,  that  all  these  things  will  keep  alive  the  bitterness 
of  the  South,  represent  no  spirit  of  magnanimity,  but  rather 
that  disposition  which  in  private  life  is  forever  expressing 
apprehensions  of  ceaseless  troubles  between  one  party  and 
another,  thereby  aggravating  difficulties  which  but  for  their 
folly  would  be  speedily  adjusted.  Reconciliation  is  not  se 
cured  by  timid  fears,  but  by  boldness  in  doing  what  is  right. 

We  turn  and  gaze  upon  the  lineaments  of  a  martyred 
soldier,  a  general  of  the  Union  armies  who  loved  his 
country,  who  fought  for  it  in  the  highest  spirit  of  patriot 
ism,  and  died  a  sacrifice  on  its  holy  altar.  Shall  his  coun 
trymen,  who  revere  his  memory,  abstain  from  a  public  ex 
pression  of  their  sentiments  for  fear  of  injuring  the  feelings 
of  those  who  slew  him  while  fighting  to  uphold  the  Stars 
and  Stripes  ?  If  he  could  speak  to  us,  would  he  not  say  that 
they  who  advocate  a  course  so  pernicious  are  but  inviting 
a  future  repetition  of  the  great  crime  of  the  recent  Rebel 
lion  ?  If  all  the  patriot  dead  could  rise  and  speak  to  us 
from  the  spirit  which  actuated  their  going  forth  to  offer  up 
their  lives  for  freedom,  would  they  not  tell  us  that  these 


382       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

baneful  utterances  should  serve  to  make  all  loyal  men  the 
more  strenuous  in  their  determination  to  perpetuate  those 
memories  that  make  the  love  of  country  and  its  liberty  to 
be  prized  and  held  in  the  highest  honor  ?  For  such  unwise 
deference  to  the  feelings  of  pardoned  Eebels  offers  a  pre 
mium  to  their  crime ;  and  future  generations  will  look  back 
to  see  nothing  but  a  duel  in  that  which  was  the  most  mo 
mentous  war  that  the  world  had  witnessed,  —  a  duel  where 
the  opposing  parties  met  to  fight,  and  then  shake  hands, 
with  a  tacit  understanding  that  when  their  honor  is  again 
wounded  they  will  fight  it  out,  and  again  shake  hands. 

Let  us  not  be  in  haste.  So  deep  a  wound  as  this  country 
has  just  received  cannot  be  healed  in  a  day ;  and  the  future 
welfare  of  the  whole  body  politic  must  not  be  endangered 
through  anxiety  to  secure  so  factitious  a  result.  Let  the 
healing  process  go  on  through  the  healthy  co-operation  of 
natural  laws,  and  then  it  will  be  lasting.  And  among  the 
manifestations  of  these  laws  is  the  country's  testimonial 
to  the  memory  of  its  defenders. 

On  this  first  Memorial  Day  a  group  were  gathered  about 
two  grassy  mounds  rising  side  by  side,  and  strewn  with 
garlands  of  flowers.  Of  those  who  composed  the  group 
there  was  one  who  could  not  fail  to  attract  attention  by  the 
loveliness  of  heftinspired  countenance.  Taking  in  each  hand 
a  wreath,  she  advanced  between  these  graves,  and  lifting 
her  eyes  to  heaven  she  for  a  moment  moved  her  lips  in 
silence,  and  then  kneeling,  kissed  the  wreaths  and  placed 
them  on  the  mounds.  Then  a  young  man  went  gently  for 
ward  and  raised  her. 

"  Prescott,"  she  said,  "  their  comrades  have  strewn  their 
graves  with  these  precious  garlands,  and  your  dear  hand 
was  with  them.  0,  bless  you  all !  I  weep,  dear  husband, 


THE  VETEEAN   OF  THE  GRAND   AEMY.  383 

but  I  am  Hot  unhappy."  And  she  whom  we  have  known  as 
Emma  Paige  leaned  her  head  on  the  bosom  of  Prescott 
Marland,  her  husband,  while  tears  she  could  not  restrain 
flowed  like  a  silent  river  down  her  cheeks. 

The  graves,  on  which  she  had  placed  her  heart's  offering 
with  such  holy  affection,  were  the  last  resting-places  of  all 
that  was  mortal  of  Allen  Paige  and  the  Veteran. 

The  relatives  of  the  latter,  who  was  unmarried,  notwith 
standing  a  pleasant  jest  uttered  to  the  young  Lieutenant 
which  the  reader  may  possibly  remember,  had,  on  learning 
the  circumstances,  cheerfully  consented  that  he  should  be 
thus  buried  beside  that  comrade  whose  widowed  wife  and 
fatherless  children  had  found  in  him  so  noble  a  benefactor. 

The  mother,  Alice,  Albert,  and  Little  Dorrit  also,  all 
were  there  ;  and  with  them  were  the  merchant,  and  he  who, 
formerly  a  book-keeper,  is  now  a  partner. 

Mrs.  Paige,  whose  own  memorial  offerings  had  been  given, 
approached  those  two  whom  wedlock  had  made  her  own, 
and  looking  upon  the  mounds  with  eyes  that  bore  the  signs 
of  recent  weeping  she  said  with  ineffable  tenderness,  — 

"  Our  hearts  are  indeed  made  both  sad  and  happy  this 
day.  Sadness  we  feel ;  but  ah !  it  is  a  blessed  privilege  to 
have  them  here,  side  by  side,  to  receive  these  tokens  of 
our  love  and  gratitude.  And  0,  how  happy  the  assurance, 
that  by  the  hands  of  those  who  call  them  comrades  these 
precious  mounds  shall  in  the  years  to  come  be  strewn  with 
love's  garlands,  like  these  sweet  flowers  they  have  placed 
here  to-day  with  such  fraternal  tenderness  ! "  For  a  mo 
ment  she  gazed  upon  the  graves  in  silence ;  then  she  said, 
"It  was  indeed  a  Heaven-inspired  thought,  to  bind  the 
army  here  remaining  with  that  army  gone  before  with 
these  memorials  of  the  heart's  deep  affection." 

When  she  ceased,  a  faint  strain  of  music  floated  through 


384       THE  VETERAN  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY. 

the  air  from  a  distant  cemetery.  As  it  reached  the  widow's 
ears  she  looked  above,  and  with  the  eye  of  faith  beheld  the 
myriads  of  transfigured  comrades  gathered  together,  and 
chanting  to  the  Lord  God,  while  in  sacred  accompani 
ment  the  pealing  notes  of  the  celestial  organ  rose  with 
their  swelling  voices  through  the  archways  of  Eternal 
Heaven.  And  she  saw  hosts  of  angels  bearing  in  their 
hands  immortal  wreaths,  with  which  to  crown  each  com 
rade  as  he  shall  pass  from  earth  to  join  in  responsive  an 
thems  to  the  annual  utterance  of  a  nation's  prayer,  —  till 
the  last  surviving  Soldier  of  the  Union  shall  have  per 
formed  the  sacred  office  of  Memorial  Day,  and  then 
ascended  to  receive  upon  his  brow  the  final  wreath,  and 
answer  to  the  heavenly  roll-call,  "  HERE  !" 


THE     END. 


Cambridge  :  Electrotyped  and  Printed  by  Welch,  Bigelow,  &  Co. 


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Book  Slip-50m-8,'66(G3530s4)45! 


N°  454112 

Cobb,  C. 

The  veteran  of  the 
Grand  anqy. 


PS1356 
C56? 


LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA 
DAVIS 


